Boy oh Boy! It sure has been awhile since I have posted anything on here. I really should try to get back into the swing of things and keep this up to date!
Lord knows it is never a dull moment around here- I could probably write for days with all of the "happenings" that occur!
So... Let me get started!
Thursday, February 24, 2011
Monday, July 20, 2009
Here are the pictures of this year's club lamb
Hi everyone! Sorry I have not been on in FOREVER! We are fast approaching County Fair time again-
I'm posting a couple of pictures of this year's club lamb. I have some out of town friends that for SOME reason are not getting my picture emails-
His name is "Rock". When he braces, his rump is like stone! We are just THRILLED to actually have a competitive lamb for this year. It has only taken our family FIVE years of breeding to finally get our program figured out. Talk about a learning curve! ;) Wish us luck at the fair!
Friday, February 20, 2009
Come on over and get yourself a plate of "Cracker Head"!
Anyone ever eat Goat??
Tonight will be a family first for us!
As you remember, last summer we raised a meat goat (aptly named "Cracker Head") for our own consumption...and that is what is on tonight's menu!
The funny thing is, I'm serving it to a relative, (OK... My poor mother!) without her permission or knowing. What a bad child I am!! I wanted to make it for Christmas dinner, but she specifically told me that if I made it, she wouldn't be coming. So as you can see, this is going to go over HUGE!
In reality, it shouldn't be that big of a deal... I kind of cheated anyway. I added a shoulder pork roast into the slow cooker with it. I did it because if we didn't like it, it would be nice to eat SOMETHING- plus, the shoulder roast on a goat is so small, it wasn't worth spending the day burning electricity to make it.
Being my first time preparing Goat, I wasn't quite sure what to do with it! I didn't make a curry. I basically just "winged" it. I am making it like a normal roast. I added fresh carrots, celery, onion, garlic cloves, salt/pepper, Worcestershire sauce, water, and potatoes. I put it with the pork roast and set the temp to 300* at 10 am. I hope to eat dinner around 5:30.
I will have to let you know how it turns out!!
Tuesday, February 3, 2009
You too can pay a high price to waste water!
Because we live in the country, we are on a well system for our drinking water. Because I grew up in the city, I cannot STAND the taste of well water! Our lovely well is off the charts when it comes to Iron, Sulfur and Sediment. Initially, we used a bottled water service and would go through 3 five gallon jugs a month. For years we used this service. It was nice, but I hated the eyesore water cooler in my kitchen. So I convinced my Mr. to purchase a under the counter reverse osmosis filtration system. Not a cheap investment! The unit alone cost $150.00, and the filters are roughly $40.00, and depending upon how bad ones water is, depends on how often they need to be replaced.
For the first half a year the unit worked great! We could have on demand drinkable water without waiting for the water guy! Then, this lovely POS developed a constant "gurgle" coming from the spicket. This loud gurgle would get so annoying that I ended up putting a band-aide over it just to quiet it! But of course then I was stopping the vacuum that it needed in order to work. And then it wouldn't dispense water anymore. So were were forced to buy gallon jugs of water from the local store. What an ordeal!!!
I had been noticing that our holding tank was needing to be pumped non stop. Every 3 weeks I would have to call the septic company and pay $60.00 to have them come pump the tank. I was on red alert for water conservation! OK, more like I was the "Water Bitch" and would harp at anyone I thought was wasting too much water. My laundry would pile up because I was concerned about filling the holding tank, my own personal showers were limited, and I kept an eye on how much water I used for our dishes.
A year after having this filter, I was doing some shopping on the net for a whole house water filtration systems when I read an article about how much water those reverse osmosis filters waste. I learned that it constantly trickles clean water down my drain. Now this wouldn't be a big issue for a normal household, but our waste water goes into our small 2,000 gallon holding tank!
Sure enough, the more I read about this filter system- The more I learned where my issues were coming from.
So... (being my anal self) I decided to figure out exactly how much water this thing was chucking down the drain.
My Mr. and I pulled off the drain line and put it into a bucket and timed for 1 minute how much water came out. Here are the results:
In 1 minutes time, we collected 1 1/4 (1.25)cups of water.
That translates to:
75 cups of water per hour. (Or 4.69 Gallons per hour)
That's 112.56 gallons of water per day.
and 3,380 gallons of water in a 30 day month.
Can you believe those numbers?? Talk about UNREAL! No wonder I was having a such a problem with filling up my holding tank so fast! Needless to say, that thing is GOING! Back to bottled water we go!
For the first half a year the unit worked great! We could have on demand drinkable water without waiting for the water guy! Then, this lovely POS developed a constant "gurgle" coming from the spicket. This loud gurgle would get so annoying that I ended up putting a band-aide over it just to quiet it! But of course then I was stopping the vacuum that it needed in order to work. And then it wouldn't dispense water anymore. So were were forced to buy gallon jugs of water from the local store. What an ordeal!!!
I had been noticing that our holding tank was needing to be pumped non stop. Every 3 weeks I would have to call the septic company and pay $60.00 to have them come pump the tank. I was on red alert for water conservation! OK, more like I was the "Water Bitch" and would harp at anyone I thought was wasting too much water. My laundry would pile up because I was concerned about filling the holding tank, my own personal showers were limited, and I kept an eye on how much water I used for our dishes.
A year after having this filter, I was doing some shopping on the net for a whole house water filtration systems when I read an article about how much water those reverse osmosis filters waste. I learned that it constantly trickles clean water down my drain. Now this wouldn't be a big issue for a normal household, but our waste water goes into our small 2,000 gallon holding tank!
Sure enough, the more I read about this filter system- The more I learned where my issues were coming from.
So... (being my anal self) I decided to figure out exactly how much water this thing was chucking down the drain.
My Mr. and I pulled off the drain line and put it into a bucket and timed for 1 minute how much water came out. Here are the results:
In 1 minutes time, we collected 1 1/4 (1.25)cups of water.
That translates to:
75 cups of water per hour. (Or 4.69 Gallons per hour)
That's 112.56 gallons of water per day.
and 3,380 gallons of water in a 30 day month.
Can you believe those numbers?? Talk about UNREAL! No wonder I was having a such a problem with filling up my holding tank so fast! Needless to say, that thing is GOING! Back to bottled water we go!
Friday, January 23, 2009
Update:
Remember my "Stupid is as Stupid...OK, I'm just plain stupid!" post??
Well, here's an update for you!
A month or two after I trimmed the bushes around my gas meter, I had received a post card in the mail from the utility company. It stated that they were going to be putting in a new meter that they can read remotely so they don't need to send out a "meter reader" anymore.
Go figure, just as I decide to be accommodating, now they won't be physically reading it any longer! And oh joy, I'm glad that that ugly meter is so visible now! ---NOT!!---
Story of my life :)
Well, here's an update for you!
A month or two after I trimmed the bushes around my gas meter, I had received a post card in the mail from the utility company. It stated that they were going to be putting in a new meter that they can read remotely so they don't need to send out a "meter reader" anymore.
Go figure, just as I decide to be accommodating, now they won't be physically reading it any longer! And oh joy, I'm glad that that ugly meter is so visible now! ---NOT!!---
Story of my life :)
Odds and ends to catch you up!
Let's see, where to start!
In the fall, we decided to send my older daughter's horse out for a month of training. The cost for the month of board/feed/training at that facility cost $650.00. In order to get her (the horse) ready, she needed to have her teeth floated ($100.00), have a coggins drawn (a test to make sure she is negative for infectious equine anemia- $80.00). All things were in order, we were $830.00 invested, and off the horse went! After the 1st week, the horse came up "lame". She was gimping on her back leg. Interesting... She has never been lame a day in her life all the while she was here. So, she was on rest for the upcoming week. That week passed, and the trainer and I decided it was best to bring the horse home to "recover", and that we would bring her back for the rest of her training in a month. Took the mare home, and as soon as we let her out of the trailer she ran and frolicked in the field with the other horses. Barely a lameness to be noted. And from then after- no lameness at all. In the meantime, the trainer suggested we have a chiropractic exam and adjustment done on the horse. So, I call the vet., set up an appointment had him come out, did the adjustment - and paid him his $130.00. Horse still not lame.
Of course this is my down time. It is the time after the county fair, after breeding season, but before lambing season kicks into full swing. It is my time of year to just sit back and be "normal". I haven't posted since before Christmas- So I will catch you up a bit!
Christmas:
Christmas this year was a blur. It came and went so fast I can't believe it came at all! This year, I put up our Christmas decorations right after Halloween. I know, you think that sounds a little crazy- Well, let me explain! You see, we had Halloween decorations up and once I took down the orange and purple lights, the "boy" was sad to not have any lights to turn on. So I dug out the FAKE tree and up everything went! Then everyday all you heard was "Mommy! Turn Christmas on!" Granted, I am the type of person that yanks down the decorations the day after Christmas. This year I was a little slow. It took me till 2 days after Christmas to take them down! lol.
But, all in all, aside from all the usual hustle and bustle, Christmas was great! Of course the boy is another year older and he really got into ripping open his presents this time around. You just have to watch him to make sure he doesn't get overly excited and start ripping open everyone else's presents too!
Let's see... What else is new? We finally finished out the last 3 of our hogs for the season. They went off to the butcher shop last Monday. It will be another week before we have to pick up the packaged meat. Thank Heavens they are finally gone! What a pain to raise hogs in the winter it is! Their waterer constantly froze up, and I felt bad for them during the sub zero nights thinking they are cold. Not to mention the drain on our pocket book! The 3 pigs ate almost a $100.00 a week in feed. But,...Um... Just the thought of fresh bacon makes my mouth water! In our family, the bacon is always the first to get used up! Then the hams, and so on, and so on.
Oh! I forgot to mention, the first of this year's lambs are here! Yep! Two nice sized ram lambs were born from our seasoned ewe "Brownie". Because she only has 1 workable teat I decided to bring them in the house (again.) and feed them. For the first couple of days, two times a day, I would go outside and hand milk the ewe. What a treat that was. (Yes, that's sarcasm.) She would see me coming and would desperately try to be any where I wasn't! Once I caught her, I would tie her up to the stall wall and milk away. This was a heck of a lot of work for 1 cup of raw milk. 1 cup wasn't enough to feed 2 lambs so I would still have to make an additional cup of formula and mix the 2 together. I think my hand milking experience lasted roughly 3 days. Then I basically said "to hell with this" (I think the ewe did too!) and that was that!
Now we are just waiting for the rest of the ewes to pop. Thank heaven's all of the other "ladies" can take care of their own young. My days of being thrilled to have lambs in the house are long gone! lol. It was interesting though to see the boy instantly know what newborn lambs were. If I think about it, he was a year and a half old last time around, and hasn't seen newborn lambs since. His favorite thing to do this year is to feed the baby lambs. He will have an absolute melt down if I feed them their bottles without him. Now if only I can get him to clean up after them! lol. Maybe next year... lol!
Hum.. what other major happenings have occurred around here?
Our back porch roof collapsed. Now that was excitement! The boy was napping, and I was sitting in the kitchen surfing the net. All of a sudden I heard a loud "Crack"! I looked out my glass patio doors just in time to see the entire roof of the porch come slamming down. Snow, boards, and roof material were every where! I couldn't open my patio door because it was blocked with over 2 feet of snow. I didn't have any shoes to put on (because they were all outside on the porch!) So I ran out the front door in my sock feet to inspect the damage.
I was really concerned because our outside cats are always on that porch. They sleep stacked like cord wood on this little tiny cat bed. It is not uncommon to find at least 7 cats piled together on this little bed. As I was looking for cat casualties I noticed that one of the main porch beams came crashing down right smack on that little bed, flattening it like paper. Luckily, over time the cats started to reappear. Every one of those cats heard the crack and took off like lightening before the cave in.
I'm just grateful that nothing was damaged or hurt. And I'm grateful that it didn't take out the glass patio doors or even the window on the house! The roof collapse was two fold, yes- I loved the porch for the shade it provided, a space to house the boy's toys in the summer and a place to get out of the rain. But man did I think that porch was UGLY! I'm GLAD it fell down! At least now I can build something with more "curb appeal" (funny! It isn't anywhere NEAR the street!) and of course more structurally sound!
A week after the porch roof collapse, our furnace decided to quit working. I noticed that it was blowing cool air instead of warm air. I called the Mr. at work, and he came home to deal with it. Long story short, as it turned out- It was the "upper limit switch" again. We just had a heating / cooling company out last winter to replace that switch. That little visit cost us $350.00! OUCH! Luckily, this year- my Mr. was smarter... and figured out that it was the same switch, called up his heating / cooling friend (not the company that came out the year before) and asked if he would be kind enough to order the switch for us. He ordered it, my Mr. picked it up, paid for it, and put it in. The cost of the switch?? THREE DOLLARS. And now, the furnace runs beautiful yet again! And to think, I didn't even get a kiss with the raping I received from that company the year before! I'm sure in the wrong business!
Speaking of wasting money! Here's another one for you!
In the fall, we decided to send my older daughter's horse out for a month of training. The cost for the month of board/feed/training at that facility cost $650.00. In order to get her (the horse) ready, she needed to have her teeth floated ($100.00), have a coggins drawn (a test to make sure she is negative for infectious equine anemia- $80.00). All things were in order, we were $830.00 invested, and off the horse went! After the 1st week, the horse came up "lame". She was gimping on her back leg. Interesting... She has never been lame a day in her life all the while she was here. So, she was on rest for the upcoming week. That week passed, and the trainer and I decided it was best to bring the horse home to "recover", and that we would bring her back for the rest of her training in a month. Took the mare home, and as soon as we let her out of the trailer she ran and frolicked in the field with the other horses. Barely a lameness to be noted. And from then after- no lameness at all. In the meantime, the trainer suggested we have a chiropractic exam and adjustment done on the horse. So, I call the vet., set up an appointment had him come out, did the adjustment - and paid him his $130.00. Horse still not lame.
So a month goes by, and the horse goes back to the trainers for another two weeks. After the first few days I get a call from the trainer- horse is lame again. Pick horse up, bring horse home. That was our first experience in taking a horse to a trainer. Am I doubting the trainer? Not really. I know she means well and doesn't want to see the horse injured perm. Its just the "luck" of it all. We had invested $960.00 into this "training" and never got an ounce of "training" out of the deal.
Now, there the horse sits... We aren't sure what to do now. We really like the horse, and didn't want to send it a packing, but why have another useless horse around here? We'll see what this summer brings for her.
The craptastic part of it all, we are (were?) considering bringing our Clyde to this trainer to be broke out this upcoming year. Now he was going to spend 2 months ($650.00/month) there! I'm worried that he will suddenly turn up "lame" and have to come back home- money wasted. So I'm on the fence about all of this... What an experience... *sigh*
Other than that, it has been the same old same old. The house has been its usual money pit. Competing with the animals to see which could possibly cost us more money. I'm still staying home raising the boy and holding down the fort. Just waiting for more lambs. I'm hoping we will have around 10 this year. I'm eager for lamb in our freezer! We STILL have a meat goat to butcher and put in the freezer, and I just bought a goose from a friend. I started the other day to pluck it (in my kitchen- big mistake! feathers all over!!) The boy was concerned that he was "hurt" and I kindly told him that he was "Dead" What a good mother I am huh?? lol.
Can we say future therapy for him?? lol.
I better get back to "life"- the boy has been waiting impatiently for me to finish this- and of course destroying everything in his path! Don't mind the spelling/grammer errors! I am trying to type and watch the boy all at the same time :)
Friday, December 5, 2008
It's time to PAY IT FORWARD....
Yesterday started off as any other normal day around here... Wake up early, get the toddler some breakfast, make sure the teenager is getting ready for school, feed the dog, make sure everyone is dressed and out the door for our 40 minute drive to and from school and then back home again.
Later that morning, I was baking some Christmas cookies for our family and friends while Pierce was taking his morning nap when the dog started barking. The dog barking is nothing new during his nap time (which really makes me frustrated!) I must have the house quieter and he can hear more which in turn makes him bark more. I was so mad at the dog for waking up Pierce that I put his bark collar on him. He didn't bark after that - because he just "knows" what that collar does.. (evil grin)
The rest of the day went on as usual and Pierce helped me finish baking the cookies. It was so cute! He even knew what the rolling pin was for!
Later that afternoon we went to go drop off a plate of cookies at my parent's house and go pick up the teen. I couldn't carry Pierce because I had my hands full with the cookies- so I did my best to keep him out of the snow. When I rounded the corner of the back porch I noticed a large laundry basket of "stuff" and a large plastic bag of "stuff" sitting in front of my front door. My first thought was that my next door neighbor was doing some winter cleaning and dropped off some items she didn't need. But I noticed a card on top of the basket... I grabbed the card and kept going to the car.
On our way to Grandma's house I opened the card. It was a lovely Christmas card with a manger scene on the front. The inside had a nice stock printed message wishing us a Merry Christmas. But the card was blank. The envelope was not addressed to us, nor was the card written in what so ever. I was really scratching my head wondering where these things came from?
When we got back home, I carried the bounty into the house. Inside the laundry basket was all kinds of household items!:
1 mid size bottle of Tide Laundry soap,
1 bottle of Ajax laundry soap,
1 bottle of Joy brand dish soap,
1 bottle of Palmolive dish soap,
1 bottle of Ajax dish soap,
1 box of kitchen trash bags,
1 box of garbage bags,
1 box of sandwich bags,
1 box of Renolds Wrap Aluminum foil,
3 box's of "soap buddies" (bar soap covered in cloth for kids)
1 box of 500 Q tips
4 toothbrushes
1 tube of Crest Pro Health toothpaste
1 tube of Colgaite toothpaste
2 boxes of Kotex Light Day pads
1 box of Maxi Pads
1 bottle of Suave Shampoo
1 bottle of Suave Conditioner
1 bottle of Aussie Shampoo
1 bottle of Aussie Conditioner
1 8pk of AA batteries
1 Glade Flameless "wisp" scented candle (this thing is SO cool!)
3 boxes of Kleenex Brand Kleenex's
3 rolls of Bounty Paper towel
2 pks of Cottonelle bath tissue
And a Veggie Tales Christmas Movie DVD
And of course the laundry basket it all came in!
All night long I thought about where these items came from. I even called my neighbor (who notices everything :) and asked her if she saw a vehicle in my driveway. She said she saw a dark colored vehicle, either black / drk blue. But she saw my car in the driveway so she figured I had company and didn't give it another thought. That was the time the dog barked. So, the dog heard those packages being left on my doorstep, but I didn't. I sure do feel bad for yelling at the dog for doing his job! :(
I asked her if she knew where all of these things came from and she didn't know. She did mention how a lot of people like to "pay it forward" this time of year... She even talked about how we sold eggs all summer long to people and that who knows, it could have come from someone that direction. Then we thought perhaps the Jehovah's Witnesses. I met a couple of really nice older woman earlier in the year (*****TANGENT TIME: Speaking of people that go door to door promoting either products or beliefs... I *never* have been or would be rude to them. I know how hard it is to do sales, and outside sales is even harder! I always hear them out, and explain to them that is not for me- so note to all of you: Be Nice to them!*** end tangent) But I didn't think it was their religious groups because there wasn't any God information.
So... all in all, none of us have any clue where all these items came from. I have never been on the receiving end of a Charitable gift before. It really gives me mixed emotions. On the fore front, I am grateful to whomever did this for me and my family. But I really wish I knew who to Thank. But on the flip side, I wonder why this was done for us? My mother in law said that somewhere along the line we touched someone and that "someone" wanted to do something nice for us in return.
I had to really eat my big piece of humble pie over all of this. My natural instinct was to think that society sees us as a "charity" case, and I was embarrassed. But I served myself up a big slice when I realized that in less than 24 hours later, the movie has already been watched, the Glade is scenting my living room, the batteries have already been used for the TV remote control and the flashlight, the bar soap was used by the toddler for his bath time in the tub, and I had already replaced my old toothbrush with the new one, not to mention the load of laundry I have already done with the new detergent.
Our family is extremely grateful for this gift. And we Thank whomever had done this from the bottom of our heart. It is now our time to "Pay it forward" and we look forward to sending Christmas joy to another family.
God Bless you this Holiday Season
Later that morning, I was baking some Christmas cookies for our family and friends while Pierce was taking his morning nap when the dog started barking. The dog barking is nothing new during his nap time (which really makes me frustrated!) I must have the house quieter and he can hear more which in turn makes him bark more. I was so mad at the dog for waking up Pierce that I put his bark collar on him. He didn't bark after that - because he just "knows" what that collar does.. (evil grin)
The rest of the day went on as usual and Pierce helped me finish baking the cookies. It was so cute! He even knew what the rolling pin was for!
Later that afternoon we went to go drop off a plate of cookies at my parent's house and go pick up the teen. I couldn't carry Pierce because I had my hands full with the cookies- so I did my best to keep him out of the snow. When I rounded the corner of the back porch I noticed a large laundry basket of "stuff" and a large plastic bag of "stuff" sitting in front of my front door. My first thought was that my next door neighbor was doing some winter cleaning and dropped off some items she didn't need. But I noticed a card on top of the basket... I grabbed the card and kept going to the car.
On our way to Grandma's house I opened the card. It was a lovely Christmas card with a manger scene on the front. The inside had a nice stock printed message wishing us a Merry Christmas. But the card was blank. The envelope was not addressed to us, nor was the card written in what so ever. I was really scratching my head wondering where these things came from?
When we got back home, I carried the bounty into the house. Inside the laundry basket was all kinds of household items!:
1 mid size bottle of Tide Laundry soap,
1 bottle of Ajax laundry soap,
1 bottle of Joy brand dish soap,
1 bottle of Palmolive dish soap,
1 bottle of Ajax dish soap,
1 box of kitchen trash bags,
1 box of garbage bags,
1 box of sandwich bags,
1 box of Renolds Wrap Aluminum foil,
3 box's of "soap buddies" (bar soap covered in cloth for kids)
1 box of 500 Q tips
4 toothbrushes
1 tube of Crest Pro Health toothpaste
1 tube of Colgaite toothpaste
2 boxes of Kotex Light Day pads
1 box of Maxi Pads
1 bottle of Suave Shampoo
1 bottle of Suave Conditioner
1 bottle of Aussie Shampoo
1 bottle of Aussie Conditioner
1 8pk of AA batteries
1 Glade Flameless "wisp" scented candle (this thing is SO cool!)
3 boxes of Kleenex Brand Kleenex's
3 rolls of Bounty Paper towel
2 pks of Cottonelle bath tissue
And a Veggie Tales Christmas Movie DVD
And of course the laundry basket it all came in!
All night long I thought about where these items came from. I even called my neighbor (who notices everything :) and asked her if she saw a vehicle in my driveway. She said she saw a dark colored vehicle, either black / drk blue. But she saw my car in the driveway so she figured I had company and didn't give it another thought. That was the time the dog barked. So, the dog heard those packages being left on my doorstep, but I didn't. I sure do feel bad for yelling at the dog for doing his job! :(
I asked her if she knew where all of these things came from and she didn't know. She did mention how a lot of people like to "pay it forward" this time of year... She even talked about how we sold eggs all summer long to people and that who knows, it could have come from someone that direction. Then we thought perhaps the Jehovah's Witnesses. I met a couple of really nice older woman earlier in the year (*****TANGENT TIME: Speaking of people that go door to door promoting either products or beliefs... I *never* have been or would be rude to them. I know how hard it is to do sales, and outside sales is even harder! I always hear them out, and explain to them that is not for me- so note to all of you: Be Nice to them!*** end tangent) But I didn't think it was their religious groups because there wasn't any God information.
So... all in all, none of us have any clue where all these items came from. I have never been on the receiving end of a Charitable gift before. It really gives me mixed emotions. On the fore front, I am grateful to whomever did this for me and my family. But I really wish I knew who to Thank. But on the flip side, I wonder why this was done for us? My mother in law said that somewhere along the line we touched someone and that "someone" wanted to do something nice for us in return.
I had to really eat my big piece of humble pie over all of this. My natural instinct was to think that society sees us as a "charity" case, and I was embarrassed. But I served myself up a big slice when I realized that in less than 24 hours later, the movie has already been watched, the Glade is scenting my living room, the batteries have already been used for the TV remote control and the flashlight, the bar soap was used by the toddler for his bath time in the tub, and I had already replaced my old toothbrush with the new one, not to mention the load of laundry I have already done with the new detergent.
Our family is extremely grateful for this gift. And we Thank whomever had done this from the bottom of our heart. It is now our time to "Pay it forward" and we look forward to sending Christmas joy to another family.
God Bless you this Holiday Season
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