What Christmas is really about......

Cookie Baking

Today was the first day of Christmas break, soooo, we baked cookies. Peanut Butter Hershey Kisses Cookies, Rolo Cookies, and My Love Cookies (that's what my boys call them because the secret ingredient is love). We had plans to do sugar cookies and butter toffee cookies but maybe tomorrow instead. Perhaps tomorrow I will show you pictures of all the cookies, but not tonight because I am lazy and tired.

What to do with all these eggs......

So, we are getting a lot of eggs. Every other day is an eight egg day with the days in between providing 3-4 eggs. They are still on the small to medium size but for a family of four it's a lot of eggs. I'm giving my Aunt a dozen whenever she needs them, she's teaching me how to play the piano (we both think we are getting the better end of the deal, LOL). Once they pickup in size I have a friend at the library who is anxiously waiting to buy some.

In the meantime, I've got to figure out what to do with all these eggs.

Last night I made a spinach, bacon and potato frittata and it was enjoyed by everyone but G (he's seven, okay almost eight and still pretty picky). Tomorrow will be a cookie baking day, I'm quite sure I'll use up several for that.

I requested a few egg cookbooks from my library. Hopefully I will be inspired!

Maybe this will help.

Happy Birthday Farm Mom

Today is Farm Mom's birthday.

Everybody go wish her a Happy, Happy Day at Children in the Corn

A double yolk

Sorry for the glare. This egg was our first "bigger" egg and when I cracked it open there were two little yolks in there. No Danni, I didn't weigh it. Mainly because I don't have a scale here at home to do so. I'm waiting until after Christmas, just in case someone got the hint that I wanted a scale. ;0)

They Are Beautiful

Pick me, Pick me, Pick me

Wow, I left a comment and actually got picked for something. I've been reading blogs since 2005 and this is the first time I've gotten picked for something.

Suzanne's blog: At Home with the Farmer's Wife posted about The Shack. Lots of people around me have been mentioning this book so I thought why not and lo and behold she picked my name. Woot! Woot! I'm totally surprised and excited.

Soooo, stay tuned. I'll let you know when I get it and what I think when I read it then I'll have a post offering it to one of you!

These Boots Were Made For Muckin'

Here ya go Lisa ~

These are the boots I wear the most right now. When it's really moist.

In the sun.

My trusty closed toe crocs, this is what I use in the dryer times.

These are my fav. I lurve orange! I only use these in the summer for a quick trip out to the coop.

*and yes those are comfy house pants. ;0)

A Dozen or So

Well, it actually was a Baker's dozen but I had two eggs for breakfast. ;0)

This is interesting, huh? I've named it the bellybutton egg.

Recovery

Let me tell ya, it's tough recovering from surgery. I'm tired all. the. time. I walked out to the chicken coop this morning which helped my mood but left me sweaty and exhausted. All in all I'm doing really well. I can't eat much so I'm guessing over the next month I will lose some of this extra weight. ;0) That's something to look forward to. This surgery is very similar to some one getting their stomach stapled. So, I can eat a tablespoon or two at a time. Then I'm stuffed and have to wait a couple of hours to eat again. I'm eating like 6 to 8 times a day. But I'm eating an 1/8 to 1/16 of what I ate before.

I've learned a couple of things so far about myself: 1. I have a really hard time waking from anesthesia, when I had my appy 6 years ago, I don't remember having such a difficult time, but I wasn't under as long either. 2. Me and narcotics don't mix, I knew I didn't like codeine and always refuse it when offered by the Dr. but now I know vicodin isn't good either, and morphine makes me want to scratch my face off. So, they gave me ultram which I guess is just a step up from Tylenol but sure did the trick for me. No crazy completely relaxed body and hyperactive brain, no crazy hallucinations, no crazy psychotic dreams. Just pain relief and sleep.

I've also learned how much I show affection towards my boys and how difficult it is to do that right now. I guess I hug them A LOT! Because I can't do that very easily right now and they keep trying. LOL K, I'm off to rest, maybe knit a little and catch up on t.v. Cause I can't do much else.

Slow but sure

The eggs are coming in slow but sure. First egg on Saturday, then nothing until Tuesday-one egg. Wednesday-one egg. But today we got two eggs. This morning I heard them doing the egg cheer. Brawk, brawk, brawk, BEGAWK! Then when the boys got home from school there was another egg. I'm sooooo excited.

Health wise, I'm doing fine, slow but sure as well. ;0) I'm still sore in my shoulders, I'm told it's from the carbon dioxide they pump you up with. So, I'm dealing with that. I can only eat a little at a time, all soft foods. And I tire very easily. So, lots of napping. I'm looking forward to sleeping in my usual side position.

Surgical Update

I'm home, I'm sore and I'm tired. But everything seems to have gone fine. Will post again when I'm up to it. Thanks for all your thoughts and prayers.


~Mim

It's beginning to look a lot like Christmas

Time to put the trees up. Yes, I said trees, plural. Just two this year. I have three. ;0)

We don't do real trees here, two reasons: 1. The first year we were married we went out to get a tree, it was cold but a pretty winter afternoon, with in the hour it took to pick out a tree, an ice storm hit. It wasn't pretty and it took nearly a week to get that tree defrosted! 2. We have extended family members that have pine allergies.

Anywho, this is our annual tradition, Christmas music on (no Christmas shows, too distracting) and Santa hats. And it begins:

This is what we call "fluffing" the branches.

This is the tree master, he reigns supreme on putting the tree together.

G says there is no reason to stand up to fluff the branch, he can do it perfectly well in the reclined position.

Our boys are such posers.


The finished product. We go for the wherever they want to put the ornaments look. Oh, see that tree skirt, I made that the first year we were married, it's reversible. This side looks quilted the other side is a snow scene.

This is my tree, it's in the dining room. I put it together and all my ornaments from friends and loved ones go on it.

*FYI, I am not posting this from my hospital bed, it's a make ahead post. ;0)

Keep me in your thoughts tomorrow

A few posts back I mentioned surgery. Well, it's tomorrow. I'm having a fundoplication done. Please keep me in your thoughts and prayers over the next few days.

So Eggciting!

Today was a day of firsts. We culled two roosters (we actually means my DH) I helped once the birds looked like meat. That took quite a bit of time since this was our first time. C said he would just as soon work overtime and pay for natural free range all ready processed birds. So, he's definitely not sold on us doing it ourselves yet. We also took care of Yolkie, he was also a roo and had lots of issues, so he has now went on to the great Hen house in the sky.

Let's see that's two new things, what was the other thing, hmmm, OH YEAH! Now I remember I found our first egg!!!!!!!!! Our Buff's will be 17 weeks on Monday and already an egg. I am soooo Eggcited!

Here it is right where I found it. It took great restraint to not pick it up right away. (I had to run back to the house and get my camera)

Hmmm, could this be the girl who laid it?

Chicken secrets!

Egg on a bed of greens

Our first tiny egg vs. store eggs

Egg in a milk cap

Egg house

Egg on a piano

Egg in a yarn nest(this is my fav)

Ahhh, don't do it!

Egg vs Baseball

4x4 Egg

Mini truck Egg

A precious jewel, for sure.

The Great Hunters *warning pictures of a dead deer

My guys have been talking about deer hunting all year. P turned twelve this year and I guess with all the testosterone swimming in his veins he really wanted to hunt. So, they have been scouting for weeks on our property. They set up a blind and would go down in the wee hours of the AM and sit and freeze and watch for deer. Most days they would come up and say they saw a couple. I would say, Oh yeah, well I saw four or six or eight right out the kitchen window depending on the day. Soooo, off to the local farm store and ninety bucks later, we have a deer stand in our front yard. Yes, you read that right, FRONT YARD. Our property sits off the road and is surrounded by trees. You can't see our house from the road. We are pretty secluded.

Friday morning they were up dark and early and out to the the stand they went. At about seven AM I was helping G get ready for school and we were keeping an eye on the hunters from the dining room and kitchen windows. G had walked away for a minute and I walked to the sink to do something looked up and saw a Mama doe and a yearling, called G in to have a look and about then, BANG! P had shot at a felted buck or possibly a Duck (doe with antlers) and missed. Then the deer ran of course. But the shot flushed out another group of them from the west and DH shot the buck you see in the pics.

Talk about one excited and yet at the same time disappointed boy. It was his first time and he rushed the shot. Now he knows for next time. He was right in there with his Dad though, my soft hearted boy helped field dress, skin and butcher that deer without blinking.

G was so happy that it happened before he got on the bus. DH was happy it happened the first day, he hates the cold and P was wishing we had more than one deer permit. Maybe next year.



Two happy guys!



How did this boy turn into a young man?


A few more years G and it's your turn.

Too Many Roos

Roo #1- Rooster, the main man, numero uno. Isn't he handsome.

Roo #2- Pat, mean, frustrated, dinner soon. ;0)


Roo #3- No name, not mean or aggressive yet, still will be in my freezer soon.


Roo #4- Yolkie, issues, issues, issues. Not staying in this world much longer, but not dinner.



FYI-I only ordered one roo and there was one marked with a blue head when they came. That would be Rooster. All the others were OOPS! by the hatchery. I used Cackle Hatchery out of Missouri.

So, after the Holiday weekend we will be down to 12 birds, 1 Roo and 11 Hens.

My First Award!

This was bestowed upon me by Angie over at Children in the Corn. Thanks so much! I'm soooo excited that I got an award.

Adventures in Chicken Farming Part 1

Everyday with these chickens is a learning experience. I was just talking to my chicken mentor about how the cross beaked, crooked leg chicken was doing fine. Nobody has been bothering her, just yesterday we had this conversation. Then today I go out and she's got a bloody comb. OH NO! So, I chatted with my own personal chicken ER hotline and she walked me through it and warned me of the upcoming decisions I might have to make concerning "Yolkie". I went and cleaned her up, applied some antibac ointment, while I was doing this I had the rest of the flock in the tractor. *This is where it goes a little awry. I needed to go to town and didn't want to leave them in the tractor so, I started shooing them into the coop. Some of the girls weren't cooperating and then suddenly one flew the coop, I mean tractor. And when she hit the ground she high tailed it towards the woods. This was not good, not good at all. There are foxes in there and skunks and owls and hawks and all sorts of animals who wouldn't mind at all if they happen to have chicken for breakfast. So, I ran up to the house to get boots, a hat and gloves and the butterfly nets (It was about 27 degrees this morning and no the nets weren't for butterflies). On my way I was thinking "no way am I taking my shirt off this morning to get this bird" (I learned my lesson last time). So, I got back chased her back into the yard. A few scratches, from the briar's, two broken nets and one winded lady later, I got that bird and put her back in the coop.

So, what's next? I mean really, I could use a break here God!

Advice on chicken wrangling

I have now been a chicken farmer for three plus months. Here's what I've learned so far.

1. Chickens are unpredictable. They zig when you think they are going to zag.
2. No matter how many people tell you how easy it will be, expect some difficulties.
3. Chickens are fun to watch. They can entertain you for hours.
4. Chickens poop A LOT!
5. When you decide to let your flock free range, I mean really free range, expect some difficulty in getting them back into the coop. If you are by yourself you may end up chasing a chicken around for half an hour or more because she simply doesn't understand English. She can't get it in her super small brain that she could go up that ramp into the coop. After using a broom and other objects to try to "gently" guide her up the ramp you may resort to removing your shirt in an effort to scoop her up in it. DO NOT DO THIS. It will not work and you may or may not be spotted by a neighbor! (Thank God we live 700 feet off the road with trees all around us)

Is she a he?

What say ye?

Finally... a chicken post

He's so handsome!




This is Yolkie, with her leg pulled up. Yesterday morning I noticed she was limping.



She won't put any weight on it. Any ideas? I've looked at it and it seems fine.


A chicken video for your enjoyment.

Win a quilt

One of my readers brought to my attention a quilt giveaway over at Pigtails and Snails. Go check it out!

Chicken Tractor Success

So, I've been totally struggling with getting my flock to go into the chicken tractor. I have fifteen birds and up until two days ago I could only get about eight of them out there at a time. I was chatting with frugalmom about it. She was asking me all sorts of questions about my behavior with the chickens and she wisely said "get out there and make them get in it", or something like that. That spurred me on to try to figure a way to get them to go out without too much stress. I've noticed recently that they have been very excited when I bring their food in, like they might just eat my hand while their at it excited. Sooo, it dawned on me that maybe if I put their food in there they would go out. And sure enough that worked for all but a couple and they were easily shoo'd out. Day two has come and gone and it's working. I will try to get a picture of them when it stops raining. I am amazed at how different the two spots look where they were. Mowed Down! I am relieved that they are finally "free ranging"! Thanks frugalmom for the nudge. ;0)

2 Busy 2 blog!

Seems like just yesterday I told someone I would be posting about the chickens and three weeks later here I am, no chicken post. So sad! I've been busy! Soccer, Scouting, Christian Women's Conference, Illness, House guests, Consultation with a surgeon and now on the horizon is a birthday party for our newest nephew and our #1 son.

Boo will be 1 and #1 son will be *gasp, 12. How did that happen? It seems like just yesterday I was holding his tiny body in my arms. Now he's almost as tall as me(really not saying much, I'm a shorty) But he's counting down the days til 12, he gets to set up front in the van(or so he thinks). He's checking at least every other day to see if he's grown. Slow down I say, it goes by so fast! Just yesterday I was pushing you in a stroller, just yesterday I was teaching you to tie your shoes, just yesterday I kissed your boo-boo's, just yesterday you held my hand to walk into the store, just yesterday you cozied and cuddled with me, oh what will tomorrow bring? Serious talks, razors and hair gel? Girlfriends and cars? Heartbreaks and scars. Lord please protect him as he grows, please protect my heart.

It's A Big Scary World Out There!

The chickens got to go outside today because this finally was finished. What you can't see it, darn camo! It's our chicken tractor and hopefully this will allow my lovely flock to "free range" in safety.



What in the world does she expect us to do? I am not going out first, who knows what's waiting for us out there!


Oh, move out of my way! I'll go first. K, I don't see anything out here that wants to eat me. Come on out girls I think it's safe.


Hey, everyone there's food out here!



Mmmm, yummy! Tomatoes and feed. Oh my, look at all this glorious green stuff and dirt! Are we in heaven?

We are in Heaven!


Look at us! Hey, where's everyone else?

Hey girls, what's going on? We're too scared to go outside. Well, you don't know what your missing. Maybe we'll go out later. I don't know, you all look like a bunch of scaredy cats to me. CATS! Are you crazy woman, we are not going out there with cats! Silly chickens.