Chicks in my Living Room and the Saga

Hubby immediately went to work, skipping dinner the day I had to shut off the entire water supply.  Most of the bathroom ended up in the kitchen, and some of the utility room ended up in the hallway.  It was squeeze and step over stuff for a few days.

Not to mention, dirty dished and laundry piled up.

Chicks were moved to the living room, to make room to start moving the washer and dryer, but that didn't happen.

The bathroom floor (kitchen bathroom) was ripped up, boards removed to be able to see where the leak was.   Found it.  The toilet was removed, the boards cut to access under the house (we do not have a crawl space).  The wall to the right in that picture is connected to my utility room.

However, the first cut of drywall in the utility room wasn't quite spot on.  Second cut?  Spot on. 

Four trips to the hardware store .... off and on verbal extremities coming from the utility room, there seem to be problems to deal with as he worked.  Meanwhile, I watched some tutorials for my own projects, made phone calls for one big ticket job, and other stuff.

We also did some pricing on new flooring for the bathroom, and heat tape while we had pipes exposed (by the way it wan't a water leak from the pipes cracking due to cold, it was a connection that had split apart in the wall (oh yeah for that).

Sitting down after the water was back on.....

Me:  "Well I shouldn't have kept saying I needed to get that utility room cleaned."

God listened.  God motivated.  Not good, and not all bad either.  For the first time, I stayed calm in this "storm."  Knowing that my "MacGyver" husband and I would team up and fix it.  Or should I say fix "things."  Many things.

I'm trying to get things back to normal.  The utility room cleaning will soon be underway.  Thanks to this situation.  I am purging, and thankfully a few kids in apartments are taking some items.

I'm thankful we had homemade "lysol" wipes on hand to keep our hands clean and sanitized.

I'm thankful the leak was in an area we could get to.

I'm thankful I keep flush water on hand year round.

What concerns us, is why after all these years, the pipe split apart.  Bad work?  Poor quality of water lines? Hm.  

Oh, we found a second leak in the same area.  Apparently we are not done.

Peach Chicken ~ Warming Up with Soup ~ Another Finish

During the polar vortex I collected many new recipes to try.  I made Peach Chicken (Ellie Krieger's recipe online), adapted with organic ingredients and my own homemade croutons.

I ground up the croutons in place of making fresh bread crumbs.  The only fail?  I should have sliced my chicken breasts thinner.  They required much longer to cook, but very good.  So, if you freeze your own peaches, this is a winner dinner.

Not the best photo, but I dug out one of the few bags of snap peas I froze from the garden and made sauteed asparagus and snap peas.  An old time favorite when asparagus and peas are in season.  I toss in some red pepper flakes.

Speaking of pulling items out of the freezer, it was a cold day, so I pulled out a turkey carcass, frozen carrots, the last bag of green beans, dehydrated mushrooms, celery cubes, other veggies, and some frozen rolls. Barley-Turkey broth soup was perfect for a cold evening.

I also pulled zucchini for a breakfast frittata, and split the collard greens for the frittata and soup.

Pumpkin hummus was made for snacking.  Daughter loves to pack this in her school lunch.  I love the fact it only takes 2 Tbsp. of tahini to make it too.  Delicious and nutritious - using pumpkin puree from the garden.

I finished another pair of baby booties.  Although it looks pink, they are a darker peach color

Hubby picked up my replaced Tupperware.  I already love this lady.  I'm considering of hosting a party in the future with her just because she put a special gift in the bag for me. I can always gift the kids whatever I earn free too.

The special gift?  It's a keychain.  I collect keychains and do not have this one.  Bless her heart.  It just made my day.

As for the rest of the day yesterday?  Well, I had to shut off the water about noon.  I pay attention to sounds, and noticed our water pump running non-stop.  After checking faucets and toilets....I shut it off and messaged Hubby.  I told him I heard water in the wall.  He thought I was crazy.

God motivated us to start a few new projects.  I'll be back in a few days as we get them in progress.  

Tuesday Tidbits ~ Finished Handiwork

When it snows....all he wants to do is eat it, and he forgets why he's out there.  Sigh.  He leaves his personal tracks in the now - paw prints with a tongue mark in between them.

I finished the baby blanket.

I also finished a pair of baby booties.

We are preparing for a spring vendor/craft show this month.

Family funny - Hubby caught me sweet talking to the chicks and heard me call them all "ladies."  He busted out laughing.  Oh boy, this will be interesting.

I haven't heard from the kids lately.  One needs help replacing rotors on a car, one daughter's car is still out here and broke down, and don't get me started on the truck.  It now has a fluid leak.  We really need a time period to get repairs done and get ahead of all this.  Hubby told me to order what I need on "Amazon."  I told him the groceries I need are on on "Amazon."  Sigh.  I know he's busy and that it was too cold Sunday, but something has got to give.  I'm going bonko.

I finally installed a cheap TV antenna.  Now I can watch the news and work out on the treadmill (which is rather boring so I'm super happy).  Down the road we will upgrade to a more expensive one.  We have "big ticket" projects coming up, so those went to the top of the "get it done" list.

Woke up to a chilly -7°F.  

Monday Madness

Question:  are flat top stove ranges suitable for canning?  I'm searching for a double oven, and the only ones made with electric range have flat tops.  I may have to install natural gas and go with a gas range.  It's on the wish list, but it'll be a while to purchase.  Would love to hear your experiences with a flat electric range.

Something I over bought this winter - sugar.  That's okay, I'll be ready for canning.

Something I under bought this winter - bird seed.  The birds are stealing the barn cat food, ha ha!  Tiger is over joyed with his Kitty TV for entertainment.  He is often sitting by the door watching and intrigued.

Sunday we were pretty much doing nothing, after unloading a truck of wood, and feeding the boys (nephews and one of their sons) who came out early to help.  We fed them good and retreated to finishing the series "When Calls the Heart."

I also finished a few crochet projects - photos coming soon.

The bitter cold is returning.  I have no plans to can jelly yet today.  I have a mound of dirty dishes we all decided to let go until today (oh sure, leave them to me, sigh).  I will be attempting to hook up a cheap TV antenna today too.  I just want one channel so I can watch the early (very early) morning news as I walk on my treadmill.

I have a mound of laundry to do also, and this snow isn't helping me.  I haven't put my laundry out as often as I typically do in winter and it's driving me nuts.

What's for breakfast?  Eggs and toast.  I have a busy day ahead, so it's a quick fix.

Weekend Updates

Friday night we took Youngest to our favorite, locally owned steak house.  Sadly, we will not ever go back.  First our appetizer was served burned (first time to send back food), secondly, when served our steak I noticed the roasted half of garlic not on the plate.  I asked about it, and the waitress said something like "cutting corners." 

I tasted my steak - over cooked and not the same steaks as they previously served us (over the years).  It tasted like liver.  We all didn't like it. The steak is now much thinner than any steak we've eaten there. Oh, and the butter isn't real anymore either.  They used to serve it topped with herbed garlic butter - real butter.   I noticed the "butter" not even melting on my steak.  I did not eat much of it, and we all decided to spread the word of mouth about it, and not return.  Sort of sad too, as this place is biker friendly with biker parking.  I told Hubby my kitchen is my favorite restaurant and when organic steaks go on sale, I'll be fetching up a supply to grill here this summer.  And making my whiskey butter to go on top.

Saturday, Hubby joined a nephew to cut wood.  They had a dead tree that went down on a property that our nephew knew.  They hauled the splitter there to share the wood, as our nephew just moved into his new house and has 2 fireplaces.  

Following that, I reluctantly joined a birthday party.  I was in no mood to entertain for some reason.  Either way we went, taking a tray of fruit, as I did not want to cook anything either.  We were both tired. The weather was cold and I just wanted to snuggle up inside and take a day off.  Hubby was feeling the same way.

First thing Saturday morning, Hubby asked "did you check on your chicks?"  Ha ha!  The concerned person he is....of course I did.  They are so darn cute. Sleeping on top of each other.

What's on the breakfast plate Sunday morning?  Sausage gravy, biscuits, fried potatoes and scrambled eggs.  Snow is due to return today.  

Homesteading Reality ~ Spring Chicks

I have lost 4 chickens so far this year.  First the Auracana who broke her leg, then Sparta (rooster), then about two weeks later I lost 2 barred rocks for no reason other than natural causes (old age?).  I starting looking up the dates to see how old they were, getting worried I'd lose more.  My heart was breaking of course, but it's part of homesteading.

Apparently I bought them back on 3-3-2011 , and in today's world a chicken's life expectancy is about 8-10 years (not like 20 in the old days).  They are 8 years old.  By the way that yellow chick turned out to be a white rooster, and he didn't live very long.  The barred rocks lived the longest of any breed we've had.  They are the best producer for us as well.

I brought home 7 barred rock chicks(thanks to a ride from a daughter), and that's her ESA dog Mia checking them out.
By the way, I was complimented on how I raise my layers.  I mentioned the fact my barred rocks were 8 years old and still had some to the store employee.  She responded, "wow, you must baby them."  Meaning most don't live that long and she was pretty surprised to hear that mine are still alive (some of them).

This however, puts a damper on my need to raise meat birds.  I just don't have the space to raise the layers and meat birds inside.  Next spring it'll happen.  Unless....I am unlucky enough to get 7 roosters out of this straight run purchase.  Then I'll have 6 meat birds in the freezer.   I was too late to order pullets, so say a prayer I get some hens.  

They only had cornish rocks anyway.  I want white rocks.  Next year....next year....

The contract was voted no at Hubby's work.  This means they will continue to negotiate until they have an agreement that is actually fair.  It'll be a long spring for us.  This company is brutal.

Skullcap infused oil ~ Spider bite scar update #2 ~ Dish Day and otherTidbits

I don't have photos to share, as the scar tissue remains the same, although sensitive to the touch.

I infused skullcap oil (instructions on how to infuse an oil can be found on Mountain Rose Herbs blog online) to maintain care of the scar tissue and heal it the best I can.  Although there are other herbs/weeds to infuse, I chose skullcap.  In my research it aids in healing acne scars, so I went with that to care for my spider bite scar.

I know it will be sensitive to sunlight this summer, not that my leg sees much sun (I wear pants in the garden).

Just a quick update and another way to treat scars.  If you have another way, please share.

After 2 days of dark days, we finally had beautiful sunshine.

Thursday was what I call a full blown "dish day."  I literally washed a mountain of dirty dishes, dried them and put them away, and almost immediately found myself getting more than half of them back out to cook/bake.  Oh look!  There are rotten bananas.  Must make banana bread.  Reaching in the fridge for chocolate chips....oh look!  Over abundance in milk.  I should make Mom's overnight casserole to use some up.  Must not waste anything.  Oh look, eggs can be boiled.  Sigh....I do it almost every day.  Lord help me.

I finally scooted outside to hunt down some chicken wire for another project, but was back in to do the dishes again.

I picked this recipe box for our oldest daughter.  She loves sunflowers.  There are divider cards inside and extra recipe cards.  I scanned family favorite recipes, glued them to index cards, and slipped them into a plastic recipe card protector.  I hope she likes it.

Something I learned (but haven't tried) - you can eat used tea leaves.  I'm talking about nettle, comfrey etc.  Edible weeds.  I just learned of this, and of course they won't be as strong as they've already been used for tea, but edible (tossed in a frittata, eggs, pasta etc.  I have a compost bin, so I have never thought of this until I read about it.  Do any of you use your medicinal tea leaves for another meal?