Wednesday, January 30, 2013

I didn't have time to write yesterday. By the time everything got done in the freezing cold and snow, and I finally got R. down to sleep with his cough under control, I was wiped out. I had planned to write while I waited for the dishwasher to finish but that just wasn't happening.

I got all of the farm chores done, including working the dogs for as long as I could stand to be outside. I brought in some firewood, covered in snow, so it would have time to dry before we needed it, mentally saying unkind things about the kid who lost my winter work gloves. I'll have to do it all over again today, but it's supposed to be at least ten degrees warmer today and I can see the sun is shining. It's amazing the difference that ten degrees can make!

Photo Credit: Watt Publishing

I spent some time doing some research on turkeys, and getting a few questions answered on BackyardChickens.com. I think we'll have to wait until at least next year to get turkeys, which will bum out Mr. S. He was looking forward to having that scrumptiousness on the dinner table. But they can't roost with chickens and need a larger pen, and we need to get the chicken run expanded and the garden fenced.

I made mayo for the first time. It wasn't fluffy and it didn't get very thick. I used a whisk and will try the blender next time. Since I just needed it for making Ranch dressing, it was fine.

We've been trying to find ways to reclaim some of our water. We use a LOT of water. I am able to reclaim the overflow from the clothes washer, and yesterday I reclaimed about 5 gallons from sprout rinsing and running water to get it hot. It all goes outside. Last night it was cold and snowy, so I just dumped it in the yard. We have several garden areas and trees where we can dump the water. As soon as I find a natural dish detergent that actually works, I will put together some kind of reclamation system for the kitchen sink.

Last night we had sloppy joes, fried potatoes, and salad for dinner. I crave salad in January like nobody's business.

Monday, January 28, 2013

Had three kiddoes home sick today. A pretty basic cold. I'm thankful it's not the flu.

Photo Credit: thisreidwrites

Spent most of the day mourning the loss of our warm weather. It may snow tonight. Got clothes off the line, brought in a few days' worth of food from the freezer, some herbs and spices from the herb shed, and hooked the heated water bowl for the chickens back up.

Snows after it's been warm always worry me. They are usually wet and heavy. Broken trees, downed power lines, and all kinds of not so fun stuff.

The chickens have decided they don't like it when I don't bring them scraps from the house. I was feeding them their layer feed this afternoon and standing in there waiting for that one last rooster who didn't want to come in yet, and they started pecking at me.

Unless there is some miraculous wake up cure happening tomorrow, two of the kiddoes will be home again tomorrow. They feel fine and are running around like crazy, but the cough sounds horrible and neither of the littles have really mastered the whole "cover your mouth when you cough" thing. I know I get irate when other parents send sick kids to school to infect everyone else, so they will probably be home again.

Dinner tonight was pizza and salad. I did a quick shopping trip to get us through the next week with just the basics. The pizza was on sale, and it's good to indulge once in awhile.

I have to rinse sprouts and then I'm going to bed. I am wiped out. I have been super tired today. I know part of it is because I stayed up too late last night. I just hope I'm not getting sick. So much to get done!