Are we living our dream?

[tortoise]

Things didn’t work out well for my grandnephew at school and he needs to be homeschooled. He has been home at least a week now and my niece hasn’t found a free homeschool program for him but I think she really needs something spiritual because she broke down today and told me she can’t do it anymore. I found a Catholic school with a really cheap pre-K and kindergarten curriculum. I think I will splurge. Waiting for a return call.

Kahn Academy is a fantastic, free online program. 4K to college 😍

 

[Missa@#5252]

Today was anti-procrastination day. Before getting on the road with DH, I planted some Ponderosa Lemon seeds and some onion roots and the end of a celery.
DH and I then fed the pigs, collected venison from his cousin (neck roast and a leg), checked all our mail, did two more errands then I went to my old house for planters. I ended up finding two of the containers I used to use for soap molds. I’ve been wondering if I can half the recipes.

I hope things keep getting better 🙏🙏

 

[Medicine Woman]

I know I live in the warmest climate on the forum (probably anyway) but I woke up to a pretty chilly house and took pity on Trouble by lighting the heater but I decided early to get the house warmer by killing two birds with one stone. So I burned some crisco in a cast iron pot on the stove (gas of course) and I then took out my favorite pot to roast 4 wild ducks with a bunch of organ meats. I woke up DH (sleeping pattern is way off) because one of his friends arrived. Funny how he gets up for them but not for me. Then I started bringing in the pumpkins we had growing in the front yard and pulled out the seeds. Shoved 2 small pumpkins and two normal sized ones into the oven which can barely close. I have it over 200F just to start reducing it and soften them up. After we eat duck (I’m kinda late) I will cut the pumpkin off the skin to smother in butter and sugar and later I will fill whatever jars I have left with the preserves. I might collect more jars from my old house because I have two more pumpkins, given to me from my uncle (different variety). But I did turn off the heater.
I have been having back pain so 2 nights ago I stripped my bed and put my mattress warmer and fresh sheets and started a heavy day of laundry with washing 2 comforters, one blanket and sheets. Good thing I had caught up on laundry before. But even besides just being good to snuggle up in a warm bed when it’s cold, it just feels good on my back.
Also I woke up to peep peep coming from the Bator. I don’t know how many ducklings have hatched but DH put in an order for more eggs. So I got wild ducks in the pot and domesticated ducklings in the Bator.
Yesterday DH wanted to get some treated boards he had picked up to create a place for my plant pots. I have taken to putting them on the rail of the front ramp. He wants to make a rack on the opposite side. No argument from me because my cousin gave me a 5 foot stack of 3 gallon pots. I haven’t exactly counted them yet. I don’t have enough potting soil for them so I will fill with sticks and leaves and then put 4 or 5 inches of soil. My cousin has a little side line of succulents, houseplants, cacti and other plants; not necessarily useful but pretty. I rather like green but I might as well have food growing in the pots. So I told DH if he wants to do that I would appreciate it if he can make me a hoop covering the ramp so I can have a vertical garden at that spot. We shall see.
We are really roughing it right now because of an unexpected vehicle problem that occurred on Thanksgiving Day…set us back over $300 then loaned my oldest a bit of money which I think I will get it back Wednesday…which is also DH’s payday. Just two more days!! YeeHaa!!
I guess the mice come in because of the cold. I caught two last night with some almonds and I reset the same traps. Gonna set even more before tonight.
I really want to start my own garden plants soon, inside. I might start them in egg cartons and put them on top of the Bator during the night.

 

[Medicine Woman]

Maybe it’s a blessing. I probably shouldn’t have submitted my license to verify my identity but I did. I’m so slow doing things but I already put my 4th day grain to soak in the drip water from the still dripping faucet water. I hung yesterday’s laundry, put another batch to wash (which I should probably soak) and took Trouble out to potty. I can’t believe how much rainwater was in the garbage bin.
Oh yeah….since I started recycling again I can go a few weeks without putting the garbage out. I still seriously wish the milkman would make a return….glass bottles and all. Even though I think of ways to make use of a lot of plastic jugs and other things that come into the house, I hate to see so much waste and plastic in general.
DH got a new female goat 2 days ago too…right before BIL arrived with fish to clean and to take the bed. He thought she might be lactating but the previous owner….his imaginary friend, claimed he tried to milk her and nothing. He said if that’s what she looks like dry, look out after she is full of milk. Hmmm. I might have to set up something for her closer to home when that day comes. I don’t mind drinking goats milk. That will certainly cut down on my plastic usage. I have already started using my shampoo bars and dish soap (which I made myself) and I finally ordered and received some washing soda( been out since Ida) so as soon as I make a few bars of laundry soaps, I can start making my own laundry detergent again. In the meantime I’m using boxed detergent because of the cardboard really. If anyone but me washes clothes I find the detergent runs away too fast. I really think everyone else uses a whole cup of detergent while I’m just too cheap for that. I just use a quarter cup.

 

[Mini Horses]

Yep, laundry detergents are used too heavily. Plus expensive! I use a cheapo powder "Roma". Works great.

So glad you posted, it's been a while. Hope things are going well. Goats milk? Oh, yeah! but you know, of course, she'll need to be close to milk. Lot of dairy! Cheese is fast & easy. I have a customer who buys for her soap making business. I did that for a while, few years back. Life added a change for me but, time to make more. I use nothing else, finally down to about maybe 50 bars. Great stuff.

How's you orchard looking for spring?

 

[Medicine Woman]

DH had pinched some gutters somewhere and I wanted to try strawberries in them but I didn’t realize only one link was open on the top. The others would be more of a heavy grade of metal and totally closed so not sure what to do with them. But welcome to my strawberry farm. I have 2 varieties planted here and I didn’t know why they came in 2 different size boxes but the larger one had that green bag in it for planting. Claimed each box had 10 plants but I only found 9 each. Hope this works out. I’ve only seen this done in pictures.
I’m losing my Medicaid on the 1st. I have to go all of April without insurance and I start having insurance through marketplace on May 1st. I’m supposed to get a month of Verzenio during April, free from Lilly Corp and then get a savings card for afterwards but I’m still concerned about my infusion so I sent a message to my oncologist to come up with a new plan for me because cancer is fixing to get a whole lot more expensive.
I babysat my grandchildren today by accident. I totally misunderstood my DILs text but seeing I was already there and with food she left to workout and then copy my application for assistance with Lilly at her mom’s house. It was time to see the children anyway. Now if we can hang up the clothes line on the wooden fence for vertical gardening I will be happy. I am trying to convince DH that just because we gardening doesn’t mean we have to break our backs.
The orchard is doing great. Lots of flowers but it’s mainly time to just clean up because harvest is in the fall although I am totally open to planting oranges that ripen in the spring and summer as well. I would love to double dip and grow a good cover crop for the summer season so we could multiply our profits.

 

[Medicine Woman]

Yesterday I harvested several sacks of satsuma but the little guys at the hardware stores that normally help me sell were afraid to set up my table without the bosses permission, even though they all know I have been selling for years but I filled an order for a box for one of my coworkers...also out of work. And today I started messaging all the people who normally buy privately with me so I got bites and hit one of the hardware stores. I think I can probably sell whatever the raccoons don’t eat. Tomorrow we need to make a peanut butter sandwich for the coons and place it in a trap. No...we will not be nicely relocating the coon to terrorize someone else’s farm. We will eat all the coons we catch.
I have been really depressed when I think about how my kids are staying with my oldest daughter when they could have been helping me. I could have forced the issue but I don’t want them to be disrespectful to me or DH and then a big stupid fight starts and there I am trying to neutralize it. Sometimes when that happens I just wanna be done. I want my kids all settled in their lives and I wanna be so very old and just done.
So after running around selling satsuma and dropping off at a hardware store we went further up the bayou to buy rabbits from a man we were supposed to go to yesterday. We like prepared for 12 new rabbits....I don’t know why 🤷‍♀️, and the guy is gone until Sunday. So we go to eat at this Cajun seafood restaurant nearby and the old couple we just pulled the colony of bees out their house are there and want us to join them. Old man insisted on paying. My lucky day or at least blessed. Then I find out I can go to two other places with fruit so in the morning we gotta harvest, set traps and bring fruit to hardware stores and gas station. Oh and DH hit at least 3 piles of rubble that were on roadsides to collect studs and drums....only him. Y’all know how the price of lumber went up? Well if you want to make something and you up for a road trip bring a trailer to Lafourche Parish right now!! Three weeks ago would have been even better. People throwing away half their houses for the garbage truck. $300 exterior doors. Water fountain and chandeliers. 🤷‍♀️ DH actually took a chandelier he plans on hanging in my chicken coop. Seriously??

 

[Medicine Woman]

Today I called the hardware stores that help me sell my oranges and found out one had 2 sacks left but were closing in 3.5 hours and opening Monday so I figure they will sell everything before the day is up. The other store had 2 sacks but had over 5 hours until closing and will be open tomorrow morning so I knew I had to harvest. I harvested 18 sacks and delivered, collected for 10 and left. I tried to visit my grandkids but both my daughter and daughter-in-law wanted me to wait until Sunday...today 😂. DH is suffering from a new problem which is probably a direct result of Hurricane Ida. He has a fissure and is more than likely going to require surgery. I really just wish he would stop trying to do everything. He really needs to pick his battles better. He doesn’t need to kill himself working. He can paint pictures. Amen. Goodnight 😘

 

[Medicine Woman]

I haven’t been sleeping well lately and DH has been waking up earlier than me. So I only half understood everything he was telling me but I am now understanding he went pick up MORE rabbits. So he is going put them on my farm. All things told to me by text from people I don’t know. I really hope he latched the cages. I might be responsible for a southeast, Louisiana rabbit explosion. So I also got a text from one of my coworkers that she has a few pumpkins she wants to donate to the animals. I found out they aren’t carved so I told her if she didn’t mind I would smother them. She also doesn’t like waste. I wish I could find a pale pumpkin. I might have to just order seeds 🤷‍♀️.
The flies are crazy ever since a week after the storm. Making me crazy. I think I will put out another stinky trap.
This coffee is awesome but I best get dressed. Coworker in route and I don’t want her to see me this sexy....past coworker. I still tend to think of them as my work family.

 

[Medicine Woman]

It’s a sad thing really but when others lose it guarantees me sales. I would be doing great if it weren’t for coons.