Taking a Break

I am taking a week break from my blog.  It may be longer, but I will be back. 

Not Just for Dogs

Dog beds in our house are not just for dogs. Ha ha ha!  Tiger took over Jesse's bed.

Sister Mail, Jesse's Surgery, and Missing Eggs

I came home, after a long day of driving everywhere yesterday, to find this in my mail box.  My sister, who visits India often with her family, sent me these.  They are from India.

Jesse's surgery didn't go completely well.  The vet found a hard and soft mass that was all the way to his bone.  They could not remove all of it, without risking damaging nerves etc.  The mass is being sent out to a lab, and will be checked for cancer.  We are praying that it was a result of an embedded foreign body, but the vet could not tell for sure, and thus the lab work.   

Jesse is not doing too well either.  Last night he could not open one eye, and could not walk on his left foot.  Today, his eyes are not bothering him, but he continues to favor his foot.  With today's rain, we have to wrap up his foot when he goes outside, and he's not too happy about that either.

Three days ago, only 4 eggs.  Two days ago 1 egg.  Yesterday 0 eggs.  I am betting we have another rat in the chicken barn.  Grr!  Later today, I will need to check their coop for new holes anywhere. 

 

 

Garden, Handiwork and Family

. . . planted peas late last night, rain is due tonight.

. . . started yet another new project.  This one is for my youngest daughter.  I'll post an update when it's finished.

 . . . on my 3rd skein of yarn, crocheting my shawl.

. . . checked these books out from the library.  When our egg production increases, I hope to share our reviews on some of these recipes.  I think I may even invest in buying the book on vegetables.

 . . . put up an inexpensive net for badminton and volleyball net.  Future plans are to install 2 - 4 x 4's with eye screws in the future.

. . . our 13 year-old earned two 1's as scores on her choir contest pieces.

. . . Jesse (youngest dog) goes in for surgery today.


 

From the Gratitude Journal . . .

Today I am thankful for:

. . . for Hubby cooking me breakfast on the weekends

. . . for my washing machine and clothesline

. . . for soft pillows

. . . for our coffee maker that brews in 3 minutes

. . . phones

. . . for fragrant candles my Mom gave us

. . . good ol' fashioned, to-the-mailbox, mail

. . . the sun shining today and warmer weather

. . . God's availability, always there, always listening

. . . pens and pencils

. . . for my 19 year-old daughter getting a job yesterday.  She's officially employed.

. . . for locating an alpaca farm not too far from here.  You may hear more about this later.



Today, the weather is to be up in the 60's, so the washing machine is getting a workout.  So are my clotheslines.  The kids have not been counting eggs, so I may skip the egg count this year.  I have a few new tulips and hyacinths to plant today, and add yet a bit of more pink and purple to the gardens.  Bills need paid today too.  

The herb garden is looking nice already, and my green onions need divided out.  I am replanting a new rosemary plant, since I left mine out all winter (oops!).  The chives are looking great and my sage is doing good (lost them the previous winter).  Even parsley has popped up here and there, and the same with cilantro.  We may be planting peas tonight.

 



        

Stress Baking

I bake when I am stressed.  However, there is a level of stress, that I should remember to never attempt baking.  I baked a batch of Walnut Coconut Cookies, but accidently doubled the butter.
After I realized that, I realized I only had 3 eggs in the house.  I sent my 16 year-old out for one from the coop, and luckily she brought one it.

While she was out there, her youngest female goat (Prim) came up behind her.  Somehow she got out of the fence again.  Lucky for her she discovered it.

...back to the cookies.  I had preheated the oven at 400°F, but read over the recipe for the ump-teenth time, and realized that I needed the oven on 350°F.  

With my mistake of doubling, and by the way was only baking to use up some homemade goat's milk ricotta (in place of sour cream in this recipe), I was able to double the amount of ricotta too.

By the way, the last time I baked these cookies, I used sugar in place of honey.  The cookies were a delicate shortbread cookie flavor.  With this batch, I used honey, and they are a soft cookie texture.  We also used pecans again.  I do favor the texture and flavor of baking them with sugar.

Now, I have 10?  11?  Maybe 12 dozen of these cookies. 

But, I have one less cup of ricotta to worry about getting wasted.  Next time, any small amounts of ricotta are going in the freezer.

    

From the Homesteading Journal . . .

"Snow!? Are you kidding me?!"

That was first thing out of my mouth this morning.

It's a small layer is here and there, but seriously.  It's April 20th!  Look at all that green from our recent rain too.

. . .  obtained my fishing license for this summer (Hubby too).

. . . one of our last two red hens pass away. For some reason all of our red hens consistently became egg bound and died. This is why we chose to invest in barred rocks this year.  We lost one to the great horned owl, but they seem to be larger and don't get egg bound or sick as much. 

. . . made another batch of goat's milk ricotta cheese.  I plan to make ricotta pancakes, stuffed shells and even cookies.  

Here is the link to the recipe we use:  How to Make Ricotta Cheese with Goat's Milk, Mother Earth News

. . . added meat grinder and pressure canner to the homesteading wish list.  I was iffy on buying either one, but I can see the use for them.  We can grind the chicken we raise for meat, and eventually beef.