Down she goes ~ Dogs ~ Family

Sometime during my illness, a swift wind or storm came through our area.  More of the "big barn" came tumbling down, including a large beam.  Just sharing today's biggest news discovery, ha ha!  We still plan to get inside the other half and cut beams into firewood.  We haven't found anyone to tear it down that has not wanted a hefty fee, so it's our life-long project.

Random Tidbits

There is indeed a kitten in one of our barns.  A long haired, female, calico of sorts.  Not good.  Leo, is not "fixed" and so we'll need to be making a move soon.  Fix Leo, find a home for the feral or somewhat feral kitten.  Hm.  No more rooms at the Inn, and I do not want kittens.  Who does?

Made some headway with getting better - laundry, cleaned the wood stove, picked up some some clutter, making the coffee every morning, washed the bedding, etc.

Don't ever try to write a blog post when your 17 year-old daughter is up making you breakfast - chatter, chatter, chatter, chatter.....

....she's still talking, ha ha!

Hubby has been asked to work so much overtime.  I think there is a lack of knowledgeable workers for the parts that need fixed, and he's plum tired every night.  I told him he was a grouch last night, and he slowly warmed up to being home and in peace.  Not on "work" schedule.

Bought this book from a used book store a year ago.  I'm finally reading it, and about 1/3rd of the way through it.  I had no idea what the book was about, and so far, it's been pretty good.
 

 

Before and Progress

I was whining to Hubby that I didn't have a good photo nor post to share, and it felt off for me.  I'm so used to writing, posting, and sharing, I am feeling the need to go outside to explore already.

So...

Here is a photo of me in the hospital at my worst I think.  Or close to it (after 3 ER visits and the ambulance ride).

Baking up the rolls....old post

Pre-Thanksgiving (while still sick), I used King Flour's recipe for soft white dinner rolls, I substituted home grown potatoes for the instant potato flakes (thanks to some advice from an avid bread baker).

I let the mashed potatoes cool, while the butter came down to room temperature, and took to filing away my last "file" pile.

Using the directions on King Flour's blogpost, I divided them into 16 rolls, and froze them.  

How did they turn out? Well, I forgot to take a photo, but they did not rise enough.  I'm wondering if I should have thawed them in the fridge the night before vs. the same day we baked them.  Anyone have tips on this.  I used my dehydrator to help them rise too. 

Good Morning!

One of these days I'll have some photos to share.  We've made it through our youngest daughter's birthday - she's now 15.  We made it through Christmas, and had a long visit with our oldest daughter. 

It's true.  My grand kids will be 4-legged and furry.  Oldest brought along her dog Mia, and a German Shephard she is is fostering.  She saw it in a kill shelter and immediately went into action to rescue it.  She has had many people say they'd adopt her, but many have backed out.  We got to meet her on Christmas and she is such a good dog (better than my 1 year old pups).  She loves toys and she never growled or barked when she was here.  In fact, she favored our "vet-tech" daughter and kept curling up on the sofa with her, ha ha!

And yesterday, Hubby and I made it through our 18th wedding anniversary.  We are now heading into year 19 folks.  We got showered, dressed and went out to a restaurant.  We were gifted a gift card by one kiddo, so that was very nice to have.  I felt like a real person getting out, even if it was walking in and out of a building.  It felt weird, but great at the same time.  I felt horrible I had no gift for Hubby, as he had prepared one gift for me.  He said the only gift he wanted was me healthy and home.

After we ate our anniversary lunch, we drove to the box-store and picked up a few odds and ends.  I pushed the cart around and got a bit of exercise, but was pretty tired upon arriving home.  My head is still groggy, and my walk still a bit unstable (frustrating, but getting better every day).

Hubby was called into work, but we were all okay with that.  I rested, and had one kiddo to help me at home with animals.  

Not sure if I shared this, by my "nail tech" in training daughter, gave me a long foot massage soak (we have a foot bath thing that vibrates), a pedicure (much needed after the long hospital visit), and a manicure.  Since I can't do much work, she took advantage of the time and painted my fingernails too.  It felt so relaxing and rejuvenating.

Today, however, I plan on doing laundry.  It's a step up, and don't worry, a slow step.  I'm using drying racks inside vs. the line outside.  I also have my first doctor check up later today.  I cannot wait to talk to her either.  I have a long list of medications I cannot take, and can't wait to get back on some probiotics for good gut health.  So far, all the good food that Hubby and the kids are feeding me has helped every single day.  I even get up and make the coffee now too.  Although we are using a back up pot, that takes a half hour to brew, I am very thankful for it. 

 

Merry Christmas!

Christmas Goat Fun!

Courtesy of my 20 year-old "Vet-Tech" in training daughter - happy photos of the goats.  She dressed up all of her animals and took fun photos of them playing (including her rabbit!).  This brought smiles to my face, as I am unable to walk to the barn yet.  Gosh I just love these guys.  They are sporting their Christmas collars and bells, ha ha!  Of course they were not left on, but they seemed to enjoy playing around with them.