Has She Lost Her Mind?

That is the question that my husband is asking himself.  I can tell just by looking at him.  Lately I have been trying natural or traditional (meaning from a long, long time ago - before the mass marketing crap that is considered traditional today) beauty products. Jerry:  "What - you're going to put oil on your face - to clean it?"  Me:  "Yes."  Jerry:  Looks at me as if I have lost my marbles.

I found this blog.  An amazing blog - this gal is phenomenal.  Crunchy Betty is the name and you can check it out here.  She talks about getting rid of all the chemical laden products in our lives and replacing them with natural items we can eat if we so choose.  Sounds great to me.  So I tried her oil cleansing face cleaner method.  Love it!  Then I found another post titled No 'Poo For You, Too!!!  Basically the idea is to give up conventional shampoo and conditioner and opt for more natural options - in this case baking soda and apple cider vinegar.  What an interesting idea.  The benefits seemed fabulous.  My hair is weird, in-between hair.  It is not straight by any means, accept one spot behind my right ear, and it is by no means curly - oh no.  Weird - half wavy, half frizzy mess.  That's what I have.  Maybe the chemicals are what is doing it.... maybe just maybe.  I sure hope so anyways. 

I have been on my no shampoo journey for nearly 4 weeks now and could not be happier.  I don't really have anything bad to say about it.  My hair feels different.  It isn't the beautiful, natural wavy hair that I was hoping for (just not in the stars for me) - but it is healthier hair and that is what is important. 

Two positives for me:  I had been losing ridiculous amounts of hair every time I washed my hair with regular shampoo - I mean enough hair that it would clog the bath tub.  This has stopped.  I had psoriasis on my scalp and have struggled for years to find something that would stop the flaking that everyone thought was dandruff.  Gone.  Those two things make it worth while for me along with the fact that I am using less chemicals on my body.

Me:  No 'poo = love.  Jerry:  No 'poo = hippie wife!  Whatever!  There are a lot of old hippies walking around - maybe they have it right after all....

So what is my goal - well, I want to slowly weed out the chemical cosmetics and beauty products that I normally use and replace them with natural alternatives (should they really even be called alternatives - they were here before the chemically laden crap!).  I think the most difficult thing for me to weed out will be hair color (I don't like people to see my not blonde strands of hair).  Luckily, my momma is a beautician and knows some about henna color.  Love you mom!

The Hog Hut

On almost all occasions I am the one who calls Jerry to say that I have decided to bring home a baby animal of some type or the other.  As I have said before, this is what I do.  So you can imagine my surprise when Jerry called me late last week and said "Honey, I'm getting two baby pigs."  No argument from me - he had me at baby.  I am such a sucker for babies of any type.

Friday rolled around and Jerry announced that we would be working on a home for the pigs over the weekend because we had an appointment to pick them up on Sunday afternoon.  I hadn't thought about this....  I mean of course they needed a safe place to live - but really - I had to spend my weekend working on it too??  I had big plans to decorate for Halloween.....  I talked to my very wise mother and she said I should help Jerry with the home and pen for the piggies because Jerry always builds me whatever I want for the animals I decide to bring home.  Darn it!  I hate it when she's right!

Reluctantly, I got dressed in my work clothes to go out and help Jerry with the pen.  By the time I made it out, he had several post holes for the pen dug and had brought the hog panels up from the shop.  Jerry informed me that my job would be to run the tractor - going back and forth to the shop for materials.  The very cool thing about this - Jerry bought NO materials for any of this - everything you will see we either had on hand, recycled it or re-purposed it.  I love it!

The Framework

I made several trips back and forth to the shop for materials, but once Jerry had all the post holes dug, I got to level the posts, fill the holes and tamp them down.  Fun stuff indeed....  While I worked on the pen, Jerry worked on the home for the piggies.  He got all the framing up and then it was time to put the "siding" on.  We re-purposed old cedar fence panels.  This gave the little building a very quaint feel (which I was just sure the piggies would appreciate).  Day One ended and we had the posts in and the building framed and mostly sided.

The End of Day One

We decided that Day Two should start with getting the hog panels up and getting the gate secured.  Done.  Next we (being Jerry) decided the next thing to tackle was the roof.  I brought up the roof wrap (I think that's what it is called - it's like tar paper but isn't) and helped Jerry to get it up on the roof.  (Not an easy feat for me because I am short and the part of the roof was tall - 6 ft.  So here I was, hands above my head with the roll that had to weigh at least 2 tons trying to get it up high enough so Jerry could reach down and pull it the rest of the way up.  My arms were shaking, lots of grunting and moaning and then whew - I got it up high enough for Jerry to reach down to the 4ft level and pull it the rest of the way up.)  Jerry rolled the roof wrap out and tacked it on the roof.  Next - on to the metal.  But wait - it was appointment time - off to get the piggies!

We picked up the two little guys and put them in our large dog kennel.  And I am telling you now - you have never heard such squealing and screaming in your life as those two little pigs made.  We had to drive a whole 2.6 miles back to the farm and this went on the whole way.  At this point I was thinking how thankful I was we decided to put the pen for the piggies behind the chicken coop - hopefully that would help block some sound!

One of the Piggies

Once we got back to the farm, we released the piggies into their new home.  First thing, they meticulously checked the perimeter of their pen for any weak spots - so far so good.  It was back to the roof for Jerry and I.  We used some old metal roofing that we had laying around for the roofing.  Jerry got the metal all laid out and put a few screws in to hold it in place and then announced I would be the one to put the rest of the screws in.  Whoa!  I wasn't too sure about that....  But Jerry explained that if I did the screws he could get the trim for the roof and work on some other things that I couldn't do by myself.  Dag nabbit!  I did the screws.  One very interesting thing about working on a roof - and let me first point out that the slope of this roof is not steep by any means - is that while you are up there, bent over, putting screws in the metal - your legs feel fine.  It is when you step on the ladder to get down that things get interesting.  So I put all the screws in the metal (and only missed the wood underneath with two screws!) which took be approximately an hour.  Jerry got the ladder over close to the roof for me to climb down.  One foot on the ladder, two feet on the ladder.  At this point I started to notice that my legs were not feeling quite like themselves.  Step down, step down, step down.  Ground.  Whew!  My legs were most definitely shaky!  Me:  "Wow!  Being on a roof like that really makes you legs weak, doesn't it?  Mine are feeling all shaky!"  Jerry:  "Now you know why I just want to sit in the chair when I get home and don't want to get up and go outside and do things with you after I have worked on a roof all day."  Me:  Suddenly feeling much better for obvious reasons.  Moving on.

During my time on the roof, Jerry had gotten the trim completed and done a bunch of other necessary things that I could not tell you because at that point in the weekend I was quite zombie-like.  It was nearly dark on Sunday evening and I was exhausted.  Everything wasn't completely done - but it was done enough to keep those little piggies safe.

The Hog Hut - Nearly Complete

Ooh-la-la - A man in a tool belt
 

I like to name all the buildings on our farm and thus the title of the article:  The Hog Hut!

I am sharing this post at the Homestead Barn Hop.

Lumberjack Days and the Clearwater County Fair

This year was the 100th anniversary of Lumberjack Days in Orofino, Idaho.  I was lucky enough to be able to go and enjoy the festivities on Saturday with my mom, brother and his family.  First of all, let me tell you that Lumberjack Days is free!  You can look at the animals, the preserving and craft exhibits and watch the horse pull all for free!  There are also rides there - they must be paid for obviously.  However, I didn't go to ride the rides.

Remember the Spokane County Fair I told you about here and the utter lack of animal exhibits.  Well once again a very small county fair had more animals!  Clearwater County has a small population.  I was so pleasantly surprised with some of the heritage breeds that were represented at the fair.  I know the Tamworth is crossed, but it is the first fair I have been to that the breed was even represented.

Nigerian Dwarfs

Tamworth - York Cross

Tamworth - York Cross on the Right

Midget White Turkeys (they were camera shy)

The really cool thing was the Horse Pull though.  These big draft horses pulled more than their weight easily.  The top heavy weight team (the two horses weighed approximately 4,200 lbs) pulled 6,500 pounds to win the competition.  It was really a very neat experience.  I would highly recommend attending a horse pull if you have a chance!

One of the Light Weight Teams

One of the Medium Weight Teams

I am sharing this post at the Homestead Barn Hop.

The Spokane County Fair

Remember how I told you I didn't like the crap involved with the big fancy, smanchy fairs?  Well, I have official proof of the lameness of the big "fairs."  I was listening to my favorite country station early last week and they were giving away tickets to the fair and rodeo in Spokane and a free pizza.  I called in because I wanted to go to the rodeo and low and behold, I was caller nine.  Radio DJ:  You're caller 9!  Me:  What!  I'm caller #9!  (all in a high pitched scream)  DJ:  You're going to the rodeo and we have fair tickets for you and we're giving you a free pizza!  Me:  SCREAMING!  (I am soooo one of those people that the radio folks love winning!  I scream and squeal and between you and me it is a good thing I was parked at the mailbox or there could have been some crazy driving!)  Me:  Oh my gosh!  I love you guys!  You are my favorite radio station (no prompting needed)!  DJ:  Thanks for listening and we love you too!

This is the first time I have ever won anything on the radio.  I was beside myself!  I called Jerry and was screaming/squealing for him to turn on my favorite radio station (not his favorite by the way).  He was somewhat annoyed with my exuberance but turned it on just in time to hear the play back of me.  As I have mentioned before, Jerry doesn't really like the rodeo and fair as much as I do - but the free pizza was right up his alley!  So Friday afternoon came around and we had to go to the radio station in Spokane to pickup the tickets.  They closed at 5 p.m.  Now Jerry and I live in a fairly rural area.  We aren't used to "big" city traffic.  We left in what we thought would give us plenty of time to get to the station.  However, we didn't take into account the fact that A) neither of us are very familiar with Spokane and B) there is traffic there around 5 o'clock.  Well, we made it there at 4:55 p.m. and got the tickets and the free pizza.  WHEW!  

We got to the fairground, got parked and went in the gates.  I saw an A&W and Ivars and a sub shop.  This is when I knew I wasn't going to be impressed.  Fair food is supposed to be made by grandmas and Kiwanis people and 4H moms.  We did manage to find a Kiwanis Long Horn BBQ booth where we ate.  Then we went to check out the livestock exhibits.  I have never been so disappointed in my life.  There were maybe 25 hogs, 50 poultry exhibits, 40 goats - well you get the picture.  Here is this huge fair - with no animals.  My little county fair in Bonner county had more animals!   There were sooooo many empty cages and stalls.  It makes me sad to see that people care more about the commercial aspect than what a fair is truly meant for.  (Please note:  I did speak with a nice lady in the preserves area who knew her stuff and we had a very nice conversation about canning and freezing salsa.)  

The one really cool thing there at the fair was in the cattle barn.  There were Highland Cattle.  I really love this breed and am working on trying to convince my dad (an angus/limousine man) and my husband (a not-gonna-argue-with-dad kind of man) to give this breed a shot. 

Highland Cattle

After the disappointing walk through the livestock barns we went to grab our seats for the rodeo, which were fabulous seats!  The arena at the Spokane Fair grounds is surrounded by rail yards.  Pretty great back drop...  Especially when you consider the arena at the Bonner county fair is surrounded by huge pine trees and has the foothills of Schweitzer mountain as a backdrop.  Much more to my liking.  All in all - Jerry and I had a wonderful time together.  I am very thankful to my favorite radio station for the tickets and the free pizza!  I will tell you this though - if I had paid to go to this fair, because it was not cheap for the fair and the rodeo, I would have been very upset by the contents.

I am sharing the post at the Homestead Barn Hop.

Beans, Beans, Beans

My garden has been far from stellar this year.  As a matter of fact, it has been darn near disappointing.  We had no spring and summer didn't start until mid-July.  Like I said, very disappointing....  And to top it all off, now that some things are getting close to being ready to harvest (like beans) we are nearing freezing temperatures at night.  Luckily, my parents live in a less harsh climate and there garden is doing beautifully!!  So this weekend, I went to visit and help with the canning.  And boy oh boy did we can!

My mom and dad grow bush and pole beans and they were full!  Here is a picture of one of their three gardens.  Isn't it beautiful! 

I Have Garden Envy!

Once the beans were picked and snapped we put them in the sink and rinsed them three times before putting them in the jars.

A Sink Full of Beans

Once in the jars, a teaspoon of salt is added and then they are filled with hot water.

Salt Please

The lids and rings are put on to hand tightness.

Ready for the Canner

The beans are processed for 25 minutes at 10 pounds of pressure.  We had so many beans we got two canners going!

Two Canners Are Better Than One!

A Job Well Done

Several hours later and into the middle of the night we had 22 quarts and 1 pint.  And do you want to know what the absolute best sound to hear at night while you are sleeping is?  The pop of a jar sealing!

Blue 2, Red 1

For the first time ever I entered some things in the fair.  For those fair veterans out there, please don't laugh.  I entered 3 things:  duck eggs, chicken eggs and a jar of zucchini relish that I told you about here.  And guess what??  This first timer didn't do to shabby!  I got blue ribbons for both sets of eggs and a red ribbon for my zucchini relish.  Wowza!  I could barely contain myself when I saw the ribbons!  There I was, a grown woman, acting very similar to a four year old with a new barbie.  But I didn't care - I was wrapped up in the moment.  I just about squeezed all the air out of Jerry, did some serious jumping and high-fiving and talked about the fair non-stop for the next four days!  (Jerry is really hoping that once I get this posted I will move on to something else - little does he know my plans are on to what I am going to enter next year!)

There is nothing quite like a true county fair.  And when I say true - I mean a fair that is not all about rides and booths and carnival crap.  It is about the animals and the cooking and the crafts!  I am so lucky to live in a county that has a fabulous fair.  County fairs offer all American fun and that, my friends, is a beautiful thing.

My ribbons and dough from the fair!

The Rodeo

I have never been to a rodeo.  Funny right?  I grew up in rural Idaho my whole life and never.  My mom claims this is not true - and she could be right.  Let me restate that.  I do not remember going to a rodeo.  So the Bonner County Rodeo was this weekend and I just had to go.  Jerry, who has been to many rodeos and is not particularly fond of them, was not quite as enthused as I was and could have almost been annoyed with my continuous jabber about the rodeo (I must be dreaming, how could Jerry get annoyed with me?).  But he took me anyways. 

We arrived and walked around looking at the horses.  Once inside the outdoor arena we went to the very top of the grand stands to sit.  Jerry had the BBQ ribs and I had a hamburger.  Here I am before the rodeo started - very excited.  Jerry was making fun of me because I asked him to take my picture.

Happy Me

In retaliation, because I am extremely mature, I took this picture of him. He even smiled - which is amazing in a picture - it never happens!

My handsome man

Here are the few pictures I was able to get of the rodeo.  I did not consider that the top of the grand stands would not be a good place to take pictures from.

The rodeo was fantastic!  It was good ol' all American fun!  I hope to do for many years to come!!

Zucchini Relish

Well - I had all these zucchini's more than I knew what to do with - which is wonderful because that is when I make zucchini relish!  And it is a darn good thing I did make it - because my plants have dried up - no more zucchini for me :-(  But I did get the one canning of relish in this year and for that I am very thankful!

I started out with several beautiful zucchini's (including one eight ball zucchini).  I needed 12 cups diced for the recipe and it was going to be really close.  I ended up not having 12 cups, only 10.  I adjusted the recipe with my handy-dandy calculator - Jerry.  He has a math mind - it is fabulous.  Math is one of those things that really shows how women and men think differently.  To Jerry it was simple - 80% of the original recipe.  To me, well let's just say it wasn't simple.  I liked his 80% - especially if he would calculate it for me:-)   I got my 3 cups of peppers and 3 cups of onions diced up using the wonderful attachment I have for my kitchenaid and then added salt.

Doesn't it look beautiful

The mixture sat over night and in the morning I rinsed the salt from the mixture.

Rinsing

Then I added the vinegar, sugar and spices and put it on the stove to start heating up.

Adding flavor

Once it got to a rolling boil, 20 minutes.  And bam - done.

Ready for jars!

Ladle into jars, wipe the rims, put the lids on, screw the rings on and good!  Fabulous and easy!  So I entered a jar in the fair - I will let you know how it turns out.  I could be a blue ribbon winner you know!!

The fruits of the labor

This zucchini relish is fabulous on soup beans, hot dogs, hamburgers....

I am sharing this post at the Homestead Barn Hop

Bath Time!

For the last couple of days I have been meaning to give Stella a bath.  She got into who knows what and stunk!  This afternoon I finally had the energy to take on the task of a first bath.  I know, I know she should have had a bath already by now - but it has been summer and she really hasn't gotten stinky until this week.  So, I got her in the bath tub and she wasn't too sure what to think.  This is one of those times when a picture says a thousand words.

Stella's First Bath

Obviously, the safest place to be was down my shirt!

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The Nankins

For the first time ever this year I purchased hatching eggs online.  I really like the strength and vigor of chicks that I hatch.  They grow so much faster and seem to be healthier - I was thinking I would be able to carry that through with the eggs I bought.  I wanted some rare heritage breeds (get it - Red Roof Heritage Farm - one of my goals is to have mainly heritage animals and heirloom plants) and by the time I got around to ordering - the hatcheries didn't have any chicks left.  It is amazing the things you can buy online these days.  So I found a nice lady from somewhere down south with Nankins and bought one dozen hatching eggs.  She shipped them, I got them, placed them in the incubator and 21 days later - 4 chicks.  Yep - 4.  Needless to say these are very expensive little chicks.  This is why I am so frugal everywhere else in my life - so I can own $11 chicks.  I can top that though - I bought some Russian Orloff eggs and only one chick hatched.  And wouldn't you know it the little bugger is a roo!  A $40 roo!  Anyways - I don't think I will be ordering hatching eggs anymore.  The shippers did an excellent job of packaging the eggs but there are just too many variables involved.  Lesson learned.  So next year I will buy some Russian Orloff chicks from Welp Hatchery to go with my $40 roo!

Back to the Nankins.  These little guys are really something.  They are tiny.  I had read that they would only be twenty ounces - so I knew they would be little.  But they are super little, super cute and super friendly.  So now are you thinking - why in the world would she want a chicken that little?  My husband sure was when I told him about these little guys.  It just so happens that Nankins are some of the broodiest bantams that a person can get.  They are also a very rare and old breed.  The ALBC lists them at Critical Status.  You can read all about what the ALBC says about Nankin's here.  So I decided on the bantams because of their broodiness and critical status.  I plan to use them to hatch out eggs - although now that I see their size - I'm not sure how many eggs I will be able to get under one of those little girls.  I also am planning on starting a breeding program to help with the critical status of the breed.  I am new to this and the Nankins are going to be my first try with a true breeding program so any recommendations or tips are greatly appreciated.

Three Nankins and my $40 Russian Orloff Roo in the Back

Just Being Nosy

Pretty Bird

They are so stinkin cute!  How could you not love these little guys?

A Trip to the Grocery Store

For those of you who know me - you know I am an avid couponer.  There is something about the coupon game that I just love.  It's a way to stick it to the man - you know?  For those of you who don't know me, I am not a shelf clearer - I do not have 67 bottles of mustard.  However, I do have 40 bottles of BBQ sauce - please note - I placed a special order for these so I DID NOT clear the shelf.  I firmly believe in leaving some for the next guy.  

Let me give you a little history on why I began couponing.  Jerry and I were spending almost $100 per week on groceries for just the two of us.  I was buying generic, taking advantage of sales and I put a ton of food away every summer.  $100 a week - really?  Groceries are super expensive - I really feel for the people who are trying to feed a family.  I decided that there must be something to this coupon thing - after all they were making a tv show about it.  And if they make a tv show it has to be true, right?  Anyways.  I started doing some research and found several great blogs that made it seem simple.  I decided to give it a shot.  Eight months later I am spending under $40 a week for groceries and have an impressive little stock pile!  Woohoo!

So now that I have been couponing for some time I am used to the huffs and the puffs and the eye rolls.  I don't let it bother me - I am just nice and smile - kill 'em with kindness type of deal.  However, here of late, at my favorite grocery store, line crowding has become a huge problem.  I was there last week and a man was standing right behind me while I was at the register - in my bubble - to close for comfort!  Is it just me, or are manners going to hell in a hand basket?  Anyways - this line crowding has happened to me the last two times I have been at my favorite grocery store.  So last night I asked Jerry to come to the grocery store with me.  It was a double coupon weekend and I had some large purchases to make and didn't want to deal with the line crowding.  Jerry met me at the store.  (I would like to take a moment to brag on my husband a bit - he is so wonderful.  He will do just about anything I ask him to if he thinks it will make me happy and means we get to spend time together.  I just love the guy!)  Jerry is a big guy - he is 6'3" and he runs his own construction company and works outside all the time and has the muscles to prove it.  Also, he has mastered the "don't mess with me" look.  It is really quite impressive.  He is one of those people that you really wouldn't want to meet in a dark alley.  And obviously, he is just as mean as his look - I mean, he is going couponing with me.... what could be more intimidating!!  

So we went around the store and got all of the purchases sorted in the cart and such.  We got up to the register and I had five separate purchases.  (Please note:  I have all of my purchases lined out and ready to go with the coupons in the appropriate order.)  Each person can only do three transactions at the register - so Jerry was going to do the other two. (If the store had been really busy we would have only done one at a time.  I try to time my shopping so the store isn't busy.)  I started the first transaction and Jerry loaded the other transactions on the belt.  And you are not going to believe this - not one huff, not one puff, no line crowding - no nothing!  It's amazing how differently a big man and a little lady are treated.  It was a beautiful thing!!  I did my three transactions and Jerry did his two.  And he looked so cute with his coupons and cash in hand.  I think the cashier even flirted with him a bit - I am sure she doesn't usually see a big guy with his coupons in hand every day!  We were through with our five purchases in under 5 minutes.  Not bad if you ask me.  Now I know couponing isn't for everyone but it really has been a wonderful thing for Jerry and I.  As many of you know, I am a tight wad, or as my mom says, frugal.  I like to spend my money on things that get Jerry and I towards our goals - and anything I can do to get more of that money going towards our goals - I am open to trying.  So if I am able to save a significant amount of money on the groceries that I have to buy I am going to do it, at least at this point in my life.  Priorities might shift tomorrow - that's life though, right?

Just to give you and idea of the money saved, here are the items Jerry and I purchased last night:

2 boxes of Dreyers Frozen Fruit Bars
10 cartons of Dreyers Ice Cream or Frozen Yogurt
2 bottles of Bailey's French Vanilla Creamer
4 boxes of Cherrios
4  boxes of Golden Grahms
10 boxes of Pizza Rolls
2 boxes Fiber One 90 Calorie Bars

By purchasing these items during a sale and using coupons I was able to get $143.75 worth of groceries for $29.87 and I have a $4 coupon to use on my next shopping trip.  I'll take that savings any day!

P.S. Please don't think that I am a junk food junkie!  My husband is the one who has the diet of a thirteen year old boy:-)

You Don't Know Love Until....

Last weekend was weekend #2 of cutting wood for us.  Actually,  it was splitting and stacking weekend.  We did much better getting out to work before it got too hot.  On Saturday, we split the first half of the wood which was smaller rounds - not to heavy - no problemo.  On Sunday however, we got into some of the larger rounds.  We were using a wood splitter that a wonderful lady from church let us borrow.  Jerry ran the splitter and put the rounds on to get split.  I was responsible for making sure the rounds were within reach for Jerry, flipping the rounds in the splitter once it had gone through the first time and then throwing the split wood into the trailer.  All started out good, things were going quite well and a few hours in my arms, back and legs started getting tired.  That's nothing - I work through tired all the time.  I kept plugging along.  A couple hours later - my arms were pretty much like wet noodles.  This was not such a big deal with the flipping of the wood in the splitter and the throwing of the wood into the trailer.  Where this became an issue was when I was throwing the wood towards Jerry so he could reach the rounds to put them in the splitter.  Do you see where this is going?  So - I threw a round towards the wood splitter and Jerry - and wow - my spaghetti arms aim seemed to be off a bit.  I almost hit Jerry!  Me:  "Oops!  Sorry!"  Jerry:  Blank stare at me - no words.  At this point I proceeded to have a very serious conversation with spaghetti arm A and B.  Problem solved.  Things went smoothly for about 20 minutes and then I threw a round and it hit Jerry's foot.  Me:  Blank stare, followed by batting eyes...  Jerry:  Ignored me.  I did a shake that probably looked very similar to a wet dog shaking to try to get the arms back into shape.  No such luck.  Over the next hour Jerry had to dodge approximately 6 pieces of flying wood.  And finally we were done.  On the way towards the house in the truck - I casually brought up the subject of the near misses and how sorry I was.  Jerry's response:  "You don't know love until someone throws firewood at you."

And that friends is why I love him so much!

Preparing for Winter

So after the birthday party I told you about here, Jerry and I got up the next morning to do one of my favorite things in the whole wide world!  Cutting Firewood!  I am not joking - I love it!  It is my favorite winter prep activity.  This is probably because it reminds me of being a little girl.  My mom and dad would make a day of wood cutting - we would have a camp fire and roast hot dogs and marshmallows - and of course work - but it was so fun and didn't feel like work!

Jerry, on the other hand, does NOT love cutting firewood.  It is one of his least favorite things to do.  (I WILL convert him - just wait - he doesn't know what is going to hit him!)  But he is still a good sport about it.  We have oil and wood heat in our home.  I, of course, prefer wood heat.  I love the smell, the sound, the feel - back to the childhood thing...  However, I am pretty sure that if I did not love fire wood as much as I do, Jerry would prefer to go the oil heating route.  Lucky for me he loves me!!

So we were down over the hill Sunday morning and probably didn't get out there quite as early as we should have.  Jerry had used the tractor to pull all of the cut trees down to the landing so we could do all the cutting and chopping there.  (Side note:  I also pulled some of the trees down with the tractor and Jerry used those darn fancy-dancy hand signals on me again in an attempt to direct where I was going.  One of these days he is going to realize that I just don't care to understand them and he will resort to my pointing, screaming and jumping technique of directing.  I can't wait!!  Hope I have the camera!!)  Jerry was cutting the trees into firewood length portions and I was chucking them out of his way.  I decided that instead of just making a pile of wood, I should stack it, it would be easier when we got to the cutting stage.  So I would chuck some wood and then go and stack it.  Repeat, repeat.  At first I had several small stacks but the longer we went the stacks came together.  This is what my stack looked like.  It reminds me of a meandering brook - but made out of wood of course.

My Pile of Wood

Like I said, we probably didn't get out there as early as we should have to be doing the firewood thing.  So, three hours into it we were in the heat of the day.  Lovely.  I am very fair and do not do so well with sun and heat.  But here was my handsome man, cutting away, I couldn't let him know I was getting tired!

Love a man with a chainsaw!

I bent over to chuck some wood, raised up and whew!  Feeling a little dizzy!  MUST KEEP PUSHING!  Can't let Jerry know I am feeling faint...  I threw some more wood, did some more stacking, stumbled a few times - heat was making me crazy!   At that point, my vision was blurry, even the dogs were looking at me with concern. 

Throwing Wood

And then it happened, Jerry lost a bolt or nut or something on the chainsaw!  HALLELUJAH!!  Me:  "What, we can't cut any more wood?  Nooo - I was just getting into the swing of things."  Jerry:  "Well I could run it a bit more without the bolt/nut/something, but not for long."  Me:  "Oh no, we don't want to take a chance on breaking the chainsaw.  Do you have any spare bolts/nuts/somethings in the shop?"  (Please say no, please say no!)  Jerry:  "Nope, gonna have to get them at the chainsaw shop.  We'll just call it a day."  Me:  "Well darn!  I was hoping to get this all done today.  I guess there is always next weekend!"  (On the inside I was jumping for joy - but played it pretty cool, if I do say so myself!)

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A Celebration

This last weekend there was a surprise birthday party for my dad.  Jerry and I traveled to my parents home on Friday afternoon for the festivities.  My dad, Willy, turned 69 this year.  He is the best dad in the whole wide world!  It was a small gathering of close friends and family and such a wonderful time!  Here is my dad with his three cakes - oh yes - three!  He is Mr. Sweet Tooth!  Peanut butter pie, carrot cake and german chocolate - what could be better for Mr. Sweet Tooth :-)

Happy Birthday Daddy!



Fantastic Finds

I am a yard saler.  I love them (and that is an understatement)!  There is nothing quite like the thrill of getting something for my farm or home at a fraction of the cost it would be new.  I was able to get all of the accessories for the goat barn that I told you about here from yard sales!  When I am at a yard sale I like to make a pile of the items I plan to buy and then deal on the whole pile.  The majority of the time I get a much better deal using this method.  I learned this fantastic strategy from my mom.  She is the master yard saler of all time!  This last weekend Jerry and I went out yard saling and found some fabulous items:

I had no clue what this thing was.  Luckily Jerry was with me and he knew it would be something I would want :-)  This will replace the two heat lamps I have in my chicken coop in the winter.

Flock Heater - $1

Jerry and I recently bought a camper and I have been looking for the essentials for it.  And look what I found at the same yard sale:

Wooden Spoons -$.25   Cooking Utensils - $.10

I found these shoes at a different yard sale.  I have to dress up everyday for the real job so I love finding things like these shoes that look new!  I want to be able to spend my hard earned money on my animals and plants for my gardens - not fancy clothes and shoes!  I have found that if you are willing to look at the clothes and shoes at yard sales (and maybe dig through them a little) you can find some really nice things that are very budget friendly.

Nude Pumps - $2

And last, but definately not least (in Jerry's opinion) is the Hummingbird Fish Finder.  You know the boat I told you about here - well of course it needs a fish finder!  (Why wouldn't it?)  This fish finder had never been taken out of the box - it was still sealed.  Jerry told me this was a smokin' deal!  My dad, the expert fisherman, confirmed.....

Hummingbird Fish Finder - $15

I like to yard sale on Saturday afternoons during the summer - when it is too hot to work outside.  There are deals to be had and I just have to go and check them out!

The Beginning of the Summer Harvest

I picked my first zucchini this week!  And this is very exciting for me because I was able to pick ZERO zucchini last year - it was just too cold.  The first zucchini this year was from a new variety I tried called Eight Ball zucchini.  It kind of reminds me of a little green pumpkin.  But let me tell you - it tasted like zucchini and it was fabulous!  I am amazed every year at how wonderful and vibrant the taste of produce fresh from the garden is (also wonder how I make it the nine months out of the year I am without it).  The zucchini plants look very promising right now - tons of babies!  Which is just wonderful because I am on my last jar of zucchini relish!  (Ok, ok - I was on my last jar of zucchini relish two jars ago and my wonderful mother brought me some more,)  What would I eat on my soup beans if I ran out????  Trust me - I have contemplated this thought many times.... and nothing compares to zucchini relish on soup beans.  Haven't tried it?  I would highly recommend it - it is good on hamburgers and in deviled eggs too!  If all goes well, I will be doing a post very soon on zucchini relish canning - keep your fingers crossed!!

The Beautiful Eight Ball Zucchini

The Zucchini Plants

A Beautiful Translucent Bell Pepper Ready to be Picked

Please note:  I use a passive aggressive weeding technique.  I am passive - the weeds are aggressive!  Darn things!

That Dirty Rotten Scoundrel

Jerry was at home yesterday afternoon working on sheeting the goat barn and thus the dogs were out and about, roaming the property.  They decided to go down over the hill.  And low and behold, what did they find - some type of something nasty that has been there for a while!  And what did they decide to do - they decided to roll in it!  Lovely!  Dogs will be dogs.... When I got home the dogs were still outside and I didn't notice the smell.  I went about with my evening routine, we had dinner and I went to bed.  Jerry let the dogs in and decided that Sadie needed a bath before bed because of the stench.  Sadie hates baths and as soon as she is done and out of the bathroom she rip roars around the house like nobody's business.  The rip roaring took place and then Jerry sent Sadie downstairs to go to bed.  Now I know what you're thinking - what in the world is a cattle dog doing sleeping in the house?  Let me put your mind at ease - she is a very ferocious cattle dog who just happens to like the comfort of a nice soft bed right next to me.  FEROCIOUS.  So she jumped up on my bed just like every night.  She likes to stay on the bed until Jerry comes downstairs.  (Don't judge my ferocious cattle dog - please let her continue with her illusion of ferociousness.)  The difference last night was that she had just had a bath and Jerry only towel dried her.  The good thing is that she sleeps on Jerry's side of the bed until he comes downstairs!!  (MWAAHAAAHAA!  Oops, did I laugh too hard?)  This morning when Jerry and I were having coffee I asked him how he slept last night.  Can you guess his response?? 

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The Dog Days of Summer

A couple of years ago, one of Jerry's friends gave us a boat (woohoo!).  We (being Jerry) have not had the time to work on a couple of small motor issues until just recently.  Jerry got the boat working over the weekend and wanted to take it to the lake to test it out.  I must admit that the idea of "testing out" a boat makes me a bit nervous but the 85 degree day (hot for us here in the Inland NW this year) swayed my mind.  (At this point I assume that all the people living under the heat dome are saying "give me a break - 85 - that reminds me of an icebox".)  So we went to a small lake near our house to try it out.  We decided to take the dogs with us.  Sadie has been to the ocean before and loved it so we thought she would most likely enjoy the lake.  Stella hasn't really been away from home as she is only about three months old - this was her first big outing.

We got to the lake and Jerry decided that I needed to help back him and the boat down the boat launch ramp.  I would like to take this opportunity to go over what Jerry expects when someone is assisting him while he is backing up the truck with anything behind it.  Jerry expects the person to know fancy hand signals - I'm not sure where he came across these and why he decided he liked them so much - but I sure as heck don't know them (side note:  these hand signals are the same hand signals he chooses to attempt to direct me when I drive the tractor).  My hand signals usually involve lots of arm waving and occasionally jumping if I feel the situation calls for it.  So Jerry stopped at the top of the boat launch and asked me to get out, to take the dogs with me and direct him down.  Sadie was on a leash and raring to get out of the truck - new territory to be explored.  Stella was scared to death and was pretty sure the only place she would be able to survive was climbing from my arms up towards my neck - very cat-like I promise you.

Sadie drug me down the dock next to the boat launch and after a good deal of begging - on my part - she stopped.  I was able to get her to sit and got Stella somewhat situated in my other arm.  About this time Jerry started backing down the ramp.  Oh crap!  I had no free hands to signal with!!  Jumping and hollering would just have to do this time around.  Here I was, screaming and jumping and nodding my head in different directions, all while attempting to balance and calm Stella and keep Sadie sitting.  The people who were fishing off the end of the dock must have thought I was nuts...  The good news is that Jerry doesn't really "need" to be backed anywhere... ever... as far as I have seen.  He is one of those people who could back a semi around a corn maze with one arm tied behind his back and not flatten any extra stocks of corn - it's ridiculous - that is why I don't understand his slight obsession with the hand signals - he doesn't really need them (hmm - maybe he thinks I need the hand signals when driving - nah).

In no time at all, Jerry had the boat launched, me and the dogs in the boat and we were off (I'll go ahead and take the credit for the wonderful launch - after all I did do some pretty amazing signaling!).  The boat ran like a dream and it was such a wonderful evening.  Sometimes I forget how beautiful the northwest is because I get so wrapped up in the everyday - this was a good reminder and I thank God for the time that he gave us together on the lake Saturday afternoon.

Here are the girls enjoying the boat - or at least Sadie is!!

Miss Sadie

Sadie playing First Mate!

Stella - still in my lap