I never thought it would come to this

Yes, we have to weigh the pig's feed morning and night. Apparently that is what happens when: a) you buy pigs that are about 20 lbs. to big for your county fair to begin with; b) the person who feeds them cannot stand to think that they may go hungry, and so for the first 3 weeks you have them feeds them constantly (guilty as charged here...); and c) I think these pigs are genetically disposed to gaining weight at alarming rates - they could probably eat dirt and gain several pounds a day.

Jessie's 4-H advisor is coming over tonight if the weather cooperates to teach her how to walk these pigs - so I'm going to be taking LOTS of pictures and videos.

And last night, the chickens got out. So they may become modified free range chickens if they keep this up. Although we have a real coyote/wild dog/hawk problem so I'm not sure how that will all work out.

1 more corner to go on my table topper - I'm having to make up mesurements as I go along (and then I forget to write them down for the next corner and have to start all over again). Pictures to come....

Kris

Mindless Fridays

I am so glad the week is over!!!

With weather in the high 50's yesterday, the chickens were in rare form. And we are down to just 3 roos now:( Both of our Rhode Island Reds passed on - which in a way is a relief, as they both were the more aggressive roos. But stilll.

Our Barred Rock Roo looks pretty funny since he lost the top of his comb to frostbite. Those single digit days did his comb in. And Angie, I was NOT up to putting vaseline on his comb and wattles to keep them from freezing (I did mention it to Todd that perhaps we should do that, and all I got was rolling on the floor laughing cause this roo is HUGE and does not like to be held).

I'm working away on my Bears in the Farmhouse and another baby quilt:

Slow goings due to the nice weather but......I'll get them done here shortly. Well, I HAVE to get the Bears in the Farmhouse done by Monday and the other one.....I think the baby is due the 13th of March.

Jessie's 4-H calves are growing - but slowly. We are planning on separating them this weekend so that the one who needs to gain a lot of weight (the red one - aka psycho calf - but we've been working him and he is doing much, much better) can eat to his heart's content, and the one who needs to watch his weight doesn't pig out. Yes, their pen is a mess. We have to get new tires on the skidder before we can even think of getting in there to clean it out (hopefully this weekend new tires will be brought and put on it). And as I told Todd in the case of the steer pen, the pitchfork DOES NOT fit my hand.

Thank you so much for all the wonderful comments and visits! I've enjoyed reading every one and trying new menus and planning all the wonderful foods we have been eating. I do have a bunch of awards that I have received recently - I haven't forgotten but I'm trying to figure out who to pass them on to - decisions, decisions. So I'm hoping to get that done here in the next couple of days.

And for those of you who have asked, here's some recipes:

Cheesy Broccolli and Rice Casserole:

6 cups rice, cooked according to package directions (I used 1/2 white and 1/2 brown)

2 cans cream of mushroom soup (I made my own, recipe to follow)

2 packages broccolli florets, steamed and thawed

3 cups cheddar cheese

1/2 tsp. salt and pepper

Mix rice, broccolli and 1 cup cheese, pour soup over top. Top with remaining cheese. Cover and bake 30 min. at 350. Uncover and bake an additional 15-20 min. until top is brown and crunchy.

Cream of mushroom soup:

1 lb. mushrooms, chopped, diced or sliced

2 Tbsp. butter

1 Tbsp chopped fresh thyme or 1 teaspoon dried thyme
1/2 bay leaf
1 teaspoon salt
1/2 teaspoon fresh ground pepper
2 cups heavy cream
1 1/2 cups chicken stock
1 teaspoon cornstarch dissolved in 1 Tbsp water

Melt butter in saucepan, cook mushrooms until all liquid is absorbed. Add salt, pepper, thyme and bay leave. Add chicken stock and heavy cream. Simmer 20 min. Add cornstarch and simmer until reaches desired thickeness.

I didn't have any thyme, so I omitted it and it tasted just fine. And I didn't cook mine until really thick - I wanted it a little runny since it was going in the rice. And I don't think I used exactly the same amounts of salt and pepper......

Enjoy the nice weather if you're having it, and if you're not - I'll try and send some your way shortly!

Kris

Mud

What do you do when it was 70 degrees out yesterday afternoon?

You kick all the boys and girls out into the mud and give them a couple squishy pumpkins to peck at:

You get out the 4 wheeler and yard card (after putting said 4 wheeler into 4 wheel drive so you can get through the yard to get to the chicken coop without making big ruts):

And you proceed to empty out of the chicken coop 3 heaping yardcarts full of ....stuff.

Then you have to keep the chickens out in their run until your husband gets home with the lime and another bag of shavings so you can give the chickens a nice, clean home. Which they will not thank you for - they will in fact be royally ticked at having been locked out of their house for 3 hours!

And here is how Jessie's quilt is coming along. I have the blocks done. I have the sashings and borders all cut. But....with 42 blocks, I need to find a larger place to lay it out to make sure the colors of the blocks all look good together.

And of course, today will be back down into the 40's and rain. But at least it will give me a chance to get inside and get some sewing done!

Kris

Yesterday's Haul

15 eggs. Which included a green egg from our Easter Egger (which was laying on the floor, so she must not have figured out what the next boxes are for yet).

I was soooo bummed when Angie said that our Easter Egger (mutt version of an Auracana) might lay brown eggs. Seriously. I wanted the pretty colored eggs. Looks like I will have the pretty colored eggs after all.

And I got in 3 1/2 hours of quality sewing time after the kids went to bed - no finished pictures to show yet, but it was so relaxing. Of course, I'm paying for staying up til midnight sewing today a little bit but......I think I have planned how I'm going to finish up all my WISP's and UFO's.

Now comes the debate - what to cook for dinner tonight....Todd has fire meeting (which I really hope he is going too as then I don't have to cook a whole, whole lot of food).

Kris

New Years Resolutions

Nice, MOSTLY EMPTY, family room!!

As I take a break from putting Christmas decorations away, cooking and cleaning, I think about what I want to accomplish during 2009. Not all my goals are sewing related or even quilting related:

1. I want more time to ride the horses;

2. I want to have a garden that I keep up with and harvest. Not live off the land, but not be buying wilted salad greens, tasteless tomatoes (not that I will eat them anyways:)) and mushy peppers;

3. I want to finish 18 quilt projects this year. Whether they be pillows, lap quilts, wall hangings, bed quilts. I think I did pretty well for 2008 - my goal was to finish 12. and I finished 16. Not bad considering I took a 8 year break while having both kids;

4. I want to start making Christmas gifts in January - none of this staying up until 12:45 Christmas morning for me - or still madly quilting to finish my Mom's gift;

5. I want to donate several quilts/lap blankets to Akron Children's Hospital. They were so good to Jessie during her stay/visits there.

6. I want our calves to do good at the County Fair - and for the kids who are showing them to have fun. I don't want Jessie to get Grand Champion this year - I believe it's something she needs to work for - not have it handed to her because her calf is groomed the best or has the most hair (and I think she will appreciate it more as she gets older and does more of the work herself).

7. I want to continue to cut back on our spending - we currently spend about $200 a month on groceries - I think we can do better since we don't buy meat from the grocery store;

8. I want to continue to improve my cooking skills - there is a lot more I could be doing to feed us healthy meals - I just need to do it.

9. I want to loose some weight. Not a lot, just the 10 or 15 extra pounds. Riding the horses would help with that in a hearbeat. (And as Todd pointed out when he realized a week ago that I do have a blog, and was reading a lot of my back entries - there are no pictures of me on this space - it's all the kids, Todd and the animals. Maybe this year I'll put a picture of me on here. Maybe.

10. I want to save some more money up - and I will be taking part in Gill's savings plan. Every little bit will help in these tough economic times. And I am afraid it will only get worse. I am a big one for that cappucino is only $1.29 - but that adds up every morning....so today I brought my last one from the gas station:) It was very good.

11. I want to learn how to hand quilt. I have the quilt frames, the needles, the thread, backing and batting. All I need is the courage to JUST DO IT.

12. I want to enjoy my family and friends more. To spend time having cookouts, campouts, hangouts and whatever we can come up with. I don't want to worry so much about if my bed is made, is the house clean enough, are my floors vacuumed (OCD or anal retentiveness coming out again).

I hope everyone has a bright and blessed New Year. It has been so wonderful meeting new people in blogland and visiting with all of you. See you all next year.

Love,

Todd, Kris, Jessie and Tyler

PS - and for those of you wondering - we had 1 empty egg slot in the carton yesterday, Jessie had 3 dippy eggs for breakfast, I had 2 scrambled eggs (I couldn't eat the 3rd one, so she had to - has to be an even # for me), we collected 14 eggs yesterday, so I have a carton with 8 eggs in it now, which I was happy with as of last night. Then this morning Jessie ate 2 eggs, and we so far today have gotten 5 eggs - so I'm back up to a carton with 11 eggs. But there are 5 hens sitting in nest boxes right now, so all should be right in my little world shortly, and I will be done with this odd # egg carton. hehe

What I consider essentials for going out to gather eggs -

a calf bottle for water, a basket for eggs, and a cappucino for me!

Obsessive Compulsive

I tend to be rather anal...obsessive compulsive....picky about certain things. One is how the beds are made. Another is how the house is vacummed (I vacum the main living areas of our house every day). I will only eat an even # of any given snack (whether it be potato chips, cookies, french fries...). Just don't ask me to wash windows or dust the house regularly. Or even semi-regularly....

But these chickens. Are. Freaking. Me. Out.

Why?

Because they don't lay the same amount of eggs every day:

See, I am obsessive enough to keep track of how many eggs they lay every day.

Some of these hens are SLACKERS!!!

I know this is nature, and I am thrilled (really, I am!) that they are even laying like gangbusters here the end of December. Except for the Aracana - we haven't seen a 1 colored egg. And I don't think the Jersey Giants are all laying just yet (but both the Aracana hen and the Jersey Giant hens are only 23 weeks old - and I think since they are a heavy breed, it can take them up to 30 weeks to lay pretty regularly).

But you would think they would pop me out an extra egg every once in a while so I would have an even dozen eggs, rather than 13 one day, 15 one day (the night before they laid 15 eggs in a day, Todd went out behind the chicken coop and shot off his muzzelloader before going hunting Saturday - to make sure it was working. We joke that he scared eggs out of most the hens out there as I found 3 eggs laying on the floor of the coop), 11 one day, 8 one day, and then 12 for a couple days? I know these are excellent numbers for the end of December in a 17 layer hen flock.....

This empty hole in this dozen eggs is killing me! Just killing me.

Now I'm off to sweet talk them before the days' laying begins. Maybe they will gift me with 13 eggs today, and I can breath easy for a couple days. And FYI - it doesn't bother me to have an egg carton with 6 or 8 or 4 eggs, but 11? For 3 days running? C'mon.

Kris

PS - and I have tried to talk the kids into eating an extra couple of eggs every day so it doesn't bug me so much but....we still somehow manage to end up with 11 eggs in a carton.

PPS - and Abby is running along. She's apparently not in any pain from the congestive heart failure - we talked to Todd's uncle (who is a vet in Western PA) - he said she most likely will just go to sleep one night and not wake up. She was out chasing bunny rabbits on Saturday when it was 64 degrees out here so....hopefully she will enjoy each day to the fullest until she goes peacefully in her sleep. Unfortunately, there is no "miracle" cure and 11 1/2 is pretty old for a dog. I'd rather have her for the 14-15 years that Jack Russell's can live for, but that may not be.....Thanks everyone for your kind wishes!

PPS - if anyone wants to see the apron I made out of my batik fabrics before I made my quilt top - go here. This was for my brother's girlfriend for Christmas and it was HARD to give the apron up.

We would have gotten 8 eggs today

but I broke 2.

Apparently, turning the dogs' water bucket upside down and jumping up and down on it while you have 4 eggs in each pocket is NOT a good idea.

Off to wash the coat.........

Note to self - next time, take the stupid basket with you or even better yet, run the eggs into the house before doing chores.

* * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * *

Ok, I'm back. And I'm busy making shepherd and angel costumes for the church's Christmas play. Not terribly hard, but not terribly exciting either. Fortunately, it's just 3 shepherd costumes and 2 angel costumes. I've had Jessie's and Tyler's costumes done for some time now, but have to get the others done here before Wednesday. Tomorrow would be better but.....I'm not counting on it.

And here are what the teacher gift coasters will look like:

I tried to make the coasters coordinate color wise with the mugs (and also use fabric from my stash. This fabric is left over from my tree skirt.). Obsessive compulsive, yes.....

I decided on a mug, a coaster and a packet of either hot chocolate mix or cappucino mix for all 4 teachers. Quick, simple yet nice looking. The mugs I found at Pat Catan's for $1.00.

And Tyler and Jessie painted salt dough ornaments a couple weeks ago - I'll attach one of those to each mug. Voila.

In fact, I just may have to make a coaster for my computer desk. Being oak - it would sure benefit if I wasn't setting a hot mug of cappucino on it 24/7......

Kris

Winter Chores

I thought it'd be interesting to document what I do round here in the winter. Which is basically in my book, get as many layers of clothes on that I can, get out, do the chores, and get back inside.

Todd and Tyler left for PA for the last weekend of deer season this morning. So chores were a little easier on me tonight - but not much.

2:30 - get home from work. Get the fire going, start pizza dough for dinner. Jessie is having 2 girlfriends over to spend the night. Both are great girls, but the 1 doesn't have much of a home life. Really, really nice and polite girl, but.....she was amazed the last time that she was over that people do try and have balanced meals, and dinner in our house is not frozen tv dinners every. single. night. In fact, Jessie probably doesn't know what a t.v. dinner is. From what other kids have said, you cannot get inside the house there is so much Junk/trash/clutter and they don't eat dinner at a table. They eat in the living room with the T.V. on. So I try to cook good meals when she is here, and the last few times she has even wanted to learn how to cook.

Get dressed to go outside. THis means heavy socks, sweatshirt, Columbia jacket, carhart bibs, insulated muck boots. I lost my gloves and haven't broken down and brought a new pair yet. The old ones would show up if I ever had a moment to clean out my closet.


3:00 - The chickens are laying 7 eggs a day most days. Go out, take them water. Collect eggs. Get out the 1/2 bale of shavings left, dump round for them, bring a bag of layer mash up to the chicken coop. Try to carry 50 lb. bag while also carrying a flake of hay in other hand (do you know how akward it is to bend down with a bag of grain on 1 shoulder to pick up a single flake of hay - might have been easier to carry a whole bale up there, but then Todd would know I was feeding the chickens his premium steer calf hay. Not a good idea). Give the chickens feed. Try and get a picture of my favorite rooster.





While I was in the barn getting the hay, I put hay in the horses stalls and fed the cat. We don't give our horses much grain. They are way to fat as it is. Here in another month, they may start getting a handful. We'll see how I feel about it and how they look condition wise. They do get 1 1/2 bales of timothy/alfalfa hay a day between 3 of them.

Outside dog #1

Outside dog #2

Start the water trough for the cows. Put hay in for the heifer calves. Run and get dog food for 2 outside dogs, feed them and break the ice in their water buckets.

Go back and turn off the water for the cows. Walk to barn #2 and check on the steers back there - Todd gave them hay and water this morning, so I should just have to do grain.


Back in the house by 3:25. Take off many layers of clothes. Put more wood on the woodburner - I want it cranking in here!





I'll go out about 5:00 - let the horses in, give the heifer calves and the steer calves 3 buckets of grain between them and I AM DONE FOR THE NIGHT.


The first round only took me 25 minutes. Of course, I spent about 5 minutes trying to get a picture of my favorite rooster:)



And now I have a couple hours to sew - and if the girls behave, I can sew most of the evening!

See ya,

Kris

Darned Chickens

Our chicken coop is not exactly weather resistent. Rough cut boards from our Amish neighbor do tend to dry up and shrink over time. So we've had a heat lamp on a timer out there - comes on at 3:30 in the afternoon, goes off about 5:00 a.m. We aren't sure how much good it is doing heat wise, but the 1 BIG benefit - we are up to 5 or 6 eggs a day.


However, there is a lazy chicken who lays her eggs in the late evening, on the wood floor under the nest boxes, and ontop of the timer and extension cords, which means the lamp gets unplugged a couple times a night. I switched the timer last night to shut off at 11:00 p.m. - if she's going to be dumb, they can all be cold.




Then tonight, I go out there to check for eggs - and I find this one:






Somehow this brings new meaning to the word "baby egg."

Kris

Snow and Eggs

We woke up this morning to 2-3" of snow. Pretty - but I like it much better when I don't have to drive in it. And of course, school was put on a 2 hour delay, which meant dropping the kids off somewhere else before school.



These are our eggs (minus 2 days worth from when we were gone over the weekend). Jason said between Friday night and Sunday morning they collected 5 eggs. When we got home Sunday, we got 2 more, none yesterday and 1 so far this morning. I've been plugging in their light in the afternoons about 4:00 and leaving it on until 7:30 or 8 (or a little later) and I think the 2 days of them having more darkness didn't help.

And the chickens probably got the daylights scared out of them when Tyler left the door to the chicken coop open when we got home on Sunday, and when Todd and I went out to feed, they were all wandering around lost in front of the coop. They went right back in but.....they were a little nervous.

And here is Jessie on Gambler. She had to really kick to get him to move.

Jessie FINALLY got her cast of yesterday morning. Now she has a brace on it for 2-3 weeks. The surgeon/doctor at Akron Children's said it could take upwards of 1 1/2 to 2 years to totally heal. So she's in a brace for 3 weeks but still.....much, much better than a cast. Her wrist is really stiff but she'll get better quick (hopefully).

And (not to be left out) - here is Tyler on Gambler. He couldn't get him to trot unless someone helped him a little.

20 - 21 weeks

Some of the chickens (the Barred Rocks and Silver Laced Wyandots) were 21 weeks old yesterday. The Rhode Island Reds were 20 weeks old yesterday. And the Jersey Giants and Astralorp were 16 weeks old.

And we FINALLY got our first egg today:

A little small, but....some "biddy" out there is stepping up to the plate! I don't know which hen laid this (for obvious reasons) but I'm pretty sure it wasn't a Jersey Giant or the Aracana. The hatchery told me the Jersey Giants it could take them 30 weeks to start laying.

Hopefully the rest will kick into egg production within the next few weeks. We've got a lamp out there on a timer (at the hatchery's suggestion) to trick them into thinking there is more daylight than there really is.

Now as long as I can convince Tyler he cannot sell just his one egg......

Kris

Here chicky, chicky.....

Last night we got the next boxes all cleaned out for the chickens and put fresh straw in. The first batch were 15 weeks old this past Monday, and while we probably have another couple weeks, one of the oldest hens (a barred rock) has been jumping in and out of the next boxes and digging around in there. So might as well make it a little more comfortable for her in there (I actually thought she wouldn't fit in them - she is that big). Tyler can't wait to go collect eggs every day (although I'm sure that will get real old, real quick).

My parents came down on Sunday, and took 2 of our hens home with them. Mom had wanted black and white chickens to start with, and ended up with golden comets and white ones. So we were happy to spread some of the chicken love around. Todd tried to give them a rooster or 2, but they have neighbors to close to them. So far though, none of the roosters are fighting or getting mean - which is a good thing.

And upon looking at the Jersey Giants a little closer - we think the hatchery made a mistake. One of the Jersey Giants has a definite comb and wattle - and he just towers over the others. The other 5 look identical. We were supposed to have 2 Jersey Giant roosters and 4 hens, but we are thinking we ended up with 1 rooster and 5 hens.

Today is a short day of work for me - Jessie has her surgery this afternoon at 3:00 so I'm leaving here early so I can pick her up right before she would eat lunch at school. Todd is staying home and will pick Tyler up from his babysitter's, get him some dinner (probably Subway) and take him to soccer practice.

See ya,
Kris

Decorating the Chicken Coop

When the Hurricane Ike winds came to visit us, it knocked the star off my chicken coop:(

When we went to the hatchery today to buy chicken feed and another waterer, they had some cute signs there that Tyler talked me into. I told him he had to help hang them (I did the high one, he did the low one):

And now our chicken coop is looking pretty fancy:

And clean inside thanks to Tyler's and my efforts over the weekend:

Then Tyler wanted to catch a chicken:

And I was informed that they aren't "chickies" or even "chicks" anymore - they are "CHICKENS!" Guess he told me, eh?

Kris

We are good

We are home, we are good. I think she is feeling lots better being at home - although she was bugging me all weekend to get up and play a lot.

The doctors at Akron Children's were fantastic. The ER staff - not so much. We ended up having to go there as a precaution - they did a CT scan at our local hospital and thought they saw something - could have been a broken blood vessel in her head, could have been nothing. So at 9:00 her and I headed off by ambulance to Akron and Todd and Tyler headed home. Of course, we get to Akron and the ER is a zoo. They had no clue and even with the CT scan and x-rays - still did not believe she had a broken arm (in fact, they told me at 11 we could go home, I call Todd - we can go home, come get us - at 11:15 it's oh sorry, you have to stay for the night - we did find what could be a broken blood vessel behind her eye. So back outside to call Todd - you can turn around and go home.) They got us up to the floor at 3:00 in the morning, and one there the nurses and staff were fantastic. Another CT scan Friday morning revealed nothing - no broken blood vessell, no broken cheekbone, nothing. So it was basically knock her out to set her arm, she ate, she drank, and we waited to be released.

We did get home Friday night about 8:00 - long day, longer evening, but she is so happy to be home. And she is so mobile. No pain in her arm, she's ready to run around like an 8 year old. I actually caught her skipping down the gravel driveway yesterday and trying to catch frogs out of the pond!

So she's off at school today - we'll see how it goes. Even if she makes it for 1/2 a day, I'll be happy.

And what was I doing before all this happened? I made this (zippered cosmetic/storage pouch):

And this (checkbook cover):

Both of them from the tutorials at Crazy Mom Quilts. Aren't they cute? I also worked on my bloggy birthday gifts - they would've gone out this weekend but....obviously that didn't happen:)

So the weekend was spent with cleaning house, cleaning up outside, drying chilli peppers, drying garlic (don't dry either of these in the house - it will reek for days on end!), making pepper sauce and Tyler's soccer game (which he scored 6 goals at - we won, 9 to 2).

And our chickens are huge. Tyler and I cleaned out the chicken coop yesterday morning - these guys (and girls) have grown an amazing amount - and they look like chickens now. Of course, every blade of grass that was in the chicken run is gone - so Tyler's been raking up grass clippings and giving them little treats. They also love tomatos and peaches. The first batch is now 16 weeks old - so I'm hoping here in a few more weeks we start getting some eggs.

See ya,

Kris

Chicken wranglers

We got the chicken run ready for them to go out....




And none of them would go out. So we toss them all outside - they run back in. Tyler and Jessie toss them out. They run back in. This has been repeated for several days. Tyler and Jessie are getting to be old pros at moving them around, at least.


Finally, this morning, after a week, the older ones walked out on their own when Tyler opened the door.....

I'm hoping they are just unsure ...