Happy Homemaker Monday

If you haven't gotten tired of today's posts, I am joining Sandra over at Diary of a Stay at Home Mom today.  It's a dreary day here today, so those make me lazy.  I need help staying accountable today.

On the breakfast plate  . . .

Coffee, sweet potato and black bean frittata, a slice of homemade bread with homemade sherry pear butter, yogurt topped with homemade granola.  Speaking of which, I need to get yogurt made this week.  


Right now I am . . .
Thinking my blog header really needs updated, but it will have to wait until I have a cold winter day with nothing to do.  


The weather outside . . . 
Wet.  Wet, flooding everywhere, dreary, cloudy, and colder.  Nasty tornado weather.


Looking around the house. . .
The broken down treadmill was finally moved out, so I can start putting up Christmas tree #2.  I'm not letting any holiday haters ruin my fun either.  Yes, a bit early, but if you got as sick as I did last year, you'd be doing it too.  


Today's to-do list . . .
-exercise
-Dishes! Lots and lots of dirty dishes!
-laundry washed and on the line (we have wind)
-dust
-floors
-call the insurance company
-bring in more plant stands
-clean off hearth, empty ash pan and bucket
-scrub chicken watering unit and hang heat lamp
-write!!  I didn't write yesterday, it was a family fun day.
-make a pitcher of brain booster iced tea
-make a nettle tea infusion
- my list will be for the week because there is never enough hours in my days anymore.


Currently reading . . .
Same novel, no magazines this week so far.



On the TV today . . .
Hm.  If we watch anything tonight, it'll be Christmas movies on netflix.  We don't get the hallmark channel anymore. 




On the menu this week. . .
-hamburger gravy over potatoes (using organic beef)
-stuffed peppers
-homemade pizzas
Hm?



If I have a few minutes to myself, I will . . .

Crochet.  I am working on a secret Christmas present for a daughter, but I'm just thinking I need to give it to her early.  I'm a sucker for things like that.  She's been asking for a specific crocheted item, and I'm secretly making it.  She asked me again last night if I would still make it.


New recipe I want to try or have tried this week . . .
Well, I tried the chocolate pie.  Go back one post and you'll see it.  Oh my, it's a keeper. I also tried one new jerky recipe using my dehydrator.  Loved it.  This week?  A new sweet potato dish for sure.


Favorite photo from the camera . . .

A weekend sunrise from another view other than my porch.

Devotional, Scripture, Key Verses, Quotes. . . .

Surprise in the Chicken Coop ~ Chocolate Pie ~ Dehydrator Jerky ~ Skipping Thanksgiving ~ Tornado

I didn't write this ditty yesterday, as my blog was so very long already for the day. 

I've been free ranging the ladies and stud muffin Sparta all day after about noon lately.  One, they get their grit and dirt baths, two they help me reduce the bug numbers, and three it cuts the organic feed cost down. Oh, and four, they help "till" up the garden too.

I went to put them all in, and I had left the coop door open.  The barn was shut, but once I opened the barn door, the hens followed me in. 

I had a container of goodies in one hand, and a bucket of water in the other hand.  I started to fill the water when all h-e-double hockey sticks  broke loose.  

At first I thought a raccoon was in the coop with me.  It was that dang stray gray tabby that's been hanging around.  It took forever to find the door out, and was literally climbing the chicken wire at high rates of speed.  Once I realized it was just a cat, I stepped back until it found the door.  

Oh my land.  The ladies and I had a scare.  Oh, and one hennie looks iffy.  Not sure she'll be around much.  I'm worming, but hmm.  She's not looking so perky.  Doesn't want to hop up to get in the coop. 

If you read yesterday's post, you saw I made homemade chocolate grahams.  I used 3 cups of them finely ground to make a pie crust.

I tried the new recipe.  Actually two.  The first? 

Chocolate Mousse Pie.  I have wanted to make a chocolate pie for a long time.  Hubby raved about his mother's cake, and I didn't want to pie using chocolate pudding (processed) in it.  

The recipe is in this book (right), "Christmas Made Easy" and you can also find it free online with Mr. Food, although it requires you to register to see recipes for free.

It's worth the look.  My family devoured the pie, and one was moaning as she ate it.  I've pretty much stuck to fruit pies lately and this was a sweet treat to try (for taking to holiday gatherings).  
 
I also made my first teriyaki beef jerky.  I used the oven first, then transferred it to the dehydrator.  Then I realized my dehydrator goes up to 165°F.  Duh!  

I didn't do too bad for the first time.  It tastes great too.  It is a teeny tiny bit over-dried, but still good.  I'll be making more when meat is on sale.  Or Hubby gets a deer this year. Hubby loves it!  Much easier to eat than organic (hard as a rock) jerky from the store.  I'm seeing a meat cow out here one of these days.  I really am.

The recipe for the marinade is from this book.  

I borrowed it from the library several times, and finally gave one recipe a whirl.  I had the meat guy cut the meat for me too.  I will be checking out more jerky books to see which one will land on my "wish" list next.  This one has a lot of recipes, but the author spends a lot of time on "cleanliness."

For now, I can't really try new holiday recipes, although one remains to be tried (sigh).  It's getting too close to the big day(s) and I need to save up for the supplies.  

We had plans to skip Thanksgiving.  Yes.  Skip it.  Hubby's suggestion.  We were to call and get reservations at a restaurant known for their very delicious holiday meal.  I forgot to call.  I'm sure it's too late now.  Sigh....I may be cooking it this year.  Double sigh.  I was sort of looking forward to skipping it (shhh, don't tell the kids). 

As for Sunday's entertainment?  We all went to the movies.  Hubby had 4 free admission tickets and we headed south to the other "big" city.  It was storming, and just as we had left, a (what they believe to have been) tornado hit a trailer park not far from where we had left, taking back roads.  It was very dark, raining so hard you couldn't see where the road was, and as we passed through another smaller town, several trucks from a fire station were sent out.  We were darn lucky.

That's a lot to take in for our Sunday here, and I may still join up with Monday's Happy Homemaker. I kind of need to get back on track after a day off.  Sort of a day off.  I still had a few minutes on the porch.

...until the bugs attacked me.  And before the really bad storms rolled through.  See the wet porch floor?  Rain was blowing up under the roof.

Oh.  We got more rain last night.  Like we need it.  Flooding everywhere here.