Unwelcome visitors

I got a call from Bill on Thursday saying that when he got down to the ‘Barn’ that morning there was a cow and her calf in the yard. They had walked all over leaving lots of tracks in the mud (as well as cow pies) but had only broken one thing so far. He was going to call around to the farmers nearby to see who she might belong to.



So, on Friday when I got down there he had found out that they were indeed one of the neighbors and not only had this cow and calf gotten out but 37 total cows had gotten out. Guess where they all ended up? In our Campground! I drove the mule back to check out the damage and make sure we didn’t still have cows and it’s a mess. (Sorry no pictures, I was too busy trying to right everything) They had knocked over every statue we had except two. I was afraid they had broken one but on closer inspection they hadn’t – thankfully. They trampled everything leaving a muddy mess for us.

We had straw stored in the lean to from Samhain that we use in the spring to cover wet patches for Beltane. They not only ate some of it (I didn’t think cows would eat straw – just hay) they managed to spread it all over the place breaking every bale we had. So now we will have to purchase new straw next year – unless the farmer is willing to replace it.

Well, I guess it could have been worse but we are planning on having Imbolc this weekend in the campground – Bill will have to shovel up the cow pies (in the fire pit!) and try to spread some of that straw around a bit over the churned up mess the cows left before we can use it.

In other news, we have STAIRS! Woot! I have wanted him to get the stairs done for quite some time and now we finally have them. He even ran electric upstairs for me so that I can possibly work from up there on Friday or Mondays. I’m so excited!





He also has been bringing more and more of this shop equipment down to the new shop – this piece was especially heavy – and he thought just the top would be heavy – the bottom half was worse but he did it all by himself!

What's Cookin?

Monday: Lunch: Venison B leftovers Dinner: Boof and Needles
Tuesday: Lunch: Pork roast dinner Dinner: chicken helper
Wednesday: Lunch: Naked Burrito Dinner: Spam Sandwich
Thursday: Lunch: Don’t know yet – going with a friend Dinner: Grilled Cheese and tomato soup
Friday: Lunch: McDonalds grilled chicken salad Dinner: Kielbasa, kraut and potatoes
Saturday: Lunch: green beans, ham and potatoes Dinner: Pork Chops, potatoes, greens
Sunday: Lunch: hamburger helper w mushrooms and carrots Dinner: Long John Silvers

As usual if you want a recipe just ask.

What's for dinner?

I’ve been doing much better if I track my lunch and dinner choices ahead of time. Most of my lunch choices are leftovers from the last week or so that have been frozen. Dinners are cooked fresh every night unless otherwise stated. Most of the WW recipes come off of either the website or out of my new Power Foods Cookbook. As usual, if you want a recipe – just let me know.

Monday: Lunch as Ham and Vegetable Cheese soup from my sister’s recipe
Breakfast for Dinner (Or Brinner as the kids call it) Bacon, Eggs and Toast
Tuesday: Lunch: Leftover soup Dinner: eating out with Erik, Meghan and Meghan’s mom
Wednesday: Lunch: Roasted Garlic Chicken and veggies
Dinner: Blackened Salmon with Herb/butter rice and salad
Thursday: Lunch: Ham and Veg Cheese Soup
Dinner: Chicken Helper
Friday: Lunch: 3 bean chili
Dinner: Rosemary roasted Pork with Potatoes and carrots w/ Hollywood rolls
Saturday: Lunch: Leftover pork
Dinner: Venison Bourguignon (WW Recipe)
Sunday: this is Austen’s Birthday so I’m not sure what the plan is yet.

Just a few things from the weekend.

Bill was up here at my house this weekend so projects around my house were undertaken.

My kitchen faucet has been leaking. Last year I bought a new faucet because my old one was shot. I got one of those fancy ones where the sprayer was part of the faucet thus negating the need for a separate sprayer. Well, I don’t like it nearly as much as I had thought I would. I wouldn’t have replaced it but we couldn’t fix the leak. We found out that it was a cheaply made unit that was intended for rentals. This time I bought a name brand that has a life time guarantee.

I decided to try out the tall ones where you can fill pots easier – it came with a sprayer too. Bill installed it on Saturday:


New Kitchen Faucet

I also bought seeds for a window herb garden and planted them:


Window Herb Garden

I went by my work where we have a recycle bin for plant pots. Usually I have been looking for large pots and all they have are too small of course on Saturday all I found were big ones! So, Bill remembered where he had read in one of the gardening magazines to use 2 liter bottles. You cut them in half and then flip the top part back over into the bottom part and plant your seeds in the top. This way the water drains into the bottom and they are easy to transplant later. So, I used two of these and one 1 liter bottle as well as a few old pots I had laying in the garage. I didn’t have clear plastic wrap to put over them so I had to use the cling stuff – hopefully they get enough light in the east window. I couldn’t put them in my kitchen window where the rest of my plants live as that is a North facing window and it never gets direct sunlight. My poinsettia loves it though!


Kitchen Window

Yesterday I was walking outside in near 60 degrees

Today we woke to ice and snow packed roads and temps in the 20’s (with wind chill it feels like 7).  We also made the National news – at http://www.weather.com/outlook/weather-news/news/articles/st-louis-roads-a-mess_2012-01-12.  The forecast is for occasional snow off and on thru 4 with the worst of it tapering off by noon.  Tonight and tomorrow’s forecasts look fine.  The temps should start to warm back up above freezing by the weekend but a chance of more snow on Saturday may keep Bill and I from making the trip to Columbia to see Dorothy who is in nursing care there after falling a few months ago and breaking her hip.  Bill says she’s not doing well so we want to go see her.

We’ll just have to wait and see how things look on Saturday.

More Yogurt Wars

I’m on this Greek Yogurt binge recently.  I have acquired a taste for the stuff – yes, it is an acquired taste.  And now am looking for unusual flavors that fit into my guidelines.  No artificial sugar and none of that Corn Syrup stuff – that’s just nasty and your body DOES know the difference!  Corn syrup goes straight to fat does not pass go and does not collect $200!  I also don’t want a lot of artificial stuff in it – if I can’t pronounce it I probably don’t need to eat it.

So, I caved this morning and picked up a container of Yoplait Greek 2X Protein 0% fat Key Lime flavored with other natural flavors yogurt.  I double checked the label and there is no artificial sugar, no corn syrup (there is corn starch but I think that’s ok – I can pronounce it … and spell it!)  It also has Kosher gelatin (translation: blessed cow hooves), Tumeric Extract (for color) - No, I’m no going there, and is gluten free (thank Goddess, all I need is gluten in my yogurt!), It’s good 7 days beyond the sell date (which is Jan 22) and the stuff is yummy!

I think I’m in love.

Homesteading Update:

Bill had gotten a lot of things done inside before I got there on Friday. The furnace is in and working:



He has started bringing his shop equipment up to the new place from the old place:


(LOL Yes, the stereo and TV are important bits of his shop!)


He swept the floor (this was actually a major thing as we have been tracking in mud and dirt for several months.


( And you can see in the back ground some of his actual shop equipment for wood working here.)



Our friend Cheri came by on Saturday to help us with a few of the trees that needed taking down that Bill just couldn’t manage by himself. So we have lots of piles of Cedar to chip and a big pile of apple to burn in the fireplace or smoker. We have just one more branch of the big apple tree to clean up but he and I should be able to handle that on our own.

We also managed to extend the 4 wheeler path back through the back side of the property to the fence so we can now travel a complete circle around the back half of the property. We found where the neighbors have been bringing their four wheeler over our property again to get to a tree stand. Not sure if the stand is on our property but their path sure is! They had cut the fence again and hauled off all the brush we had piled in front of it to keep them out. So we piled tree trunks in front this time and reattached the barbed wire. We are going to have to make getting a fence up back there a priority to keep them out. If they cut the new fence then we can call the sheriff. Right now we could still probably call the game warden because they hunt illegally all the time (out of season and with live traps).

We’ll see what they say when Bill gets a chance to talk to them. They weren’t home (or not answering the door) when we tried to talk to them on Sunday.

What's Cookin?

Bill and I tried the Hollywood rolls this weekend. They didn’t rise very well but they were very tasty! I think it was just too cold in his house for them to rise. I’m going to try them again this week here where it’s warmer.

Monday: Spice crusted steak w/mushrooms (ww power foods cookbook)
Tuesday: Skillet Chicken s/artichokes and roasted red peppers (ww power foods cookbook)
Wednesday: Denny’s
Thursday: Ham and Beans with Cornbread
Friday: fennel-orange Roasted Chicken w/Potatoes and Green Beans (ww power foods cookbook)
Saturday: Blackened Salmon, mashed potatos and turnip greens
Sunday: Cheri’s ham and potato soup

As usual if you want a recipe – just let me know

In Lieu of New Year’s Resolutions

I have never been one to do New Year’s Resolutions – they never stick anyway. Instead I am focusing on continuation. Continuation of healthy eating habits. Continuation of work on the new house (the barn) which had stalled out this fall due to lack of funds and motivation. Continuation of trying to be more active.

I know these all sound like resolutions don’t they? But these are all things that I have been doing all along but with the holidays I have become a bit lax. So, I am not going to go out this week and swim 10 miles, or complete the house in one day or starve myself into thinness – instead I am going to get back on the track I was on. The holidays were just a stop over for a bit.

This weekend I do have some plans. I will be going back down to Bill’s house and we plan to work on either the yard or the barn depending on the weather. So far it’s been a very mild winter with temps in the 50’s so we should be able to take down some cedar trees that need to be brought down, clean up around the apple tree and pile up all the limbs for mulching. If the weather is not going to cooperate this weekend then we have plenty to do inside the barn – putting in stairs, running duct work, running wiring, and insulation. Either way, some progress is going to be made at the property and I will hopefully remember to take pictures.

What's Cookin?

I have a lot of leftovers from the holidays in the freezer so I’m trying not to cook anything at home that will have a lot of leftovers. Bill however, is eating leftovers out of his freezer so I am planning on cooking at his house so that he will have more leftovers to eat next week. I finally got the Jambalaya recipe from his brother Richard so I will be making that on Saturday at Bill’s. I also got his mother’s Hollywood roll recipe so I think we may try this as well. The Hollywood rolls were a secret family recipe that his mom taught to Marty but not to anyone else – unfortunately, no one has been able to duplicate them since so we are going to give it a try.

Monday: Joe’s Crab Shack for my birthday dinner since all the kids were home.
Tuesday: Ham, black-eyed peas, turnip greens and rolls (leftovers from new years day)
Wednesday: Spaghetti with Garlic bread and salad
Thursday: Pork chops in the crock pot, mashed potatoes and Gravy, Wax beans
Friday: Hamburgers with chips (at Bills)
Saturday: Jambalaya (Richard’s recipe), Hollywood rolls (Bill’s mom’s recipe)
Sunday: leftovers at Bills (Jambalaya is even better the second day!)

As usual if you want a recipe – just let me know