Britesea - Living the good life in rural Oregon

[goatgurl]

i saw an ad for piglets that were 1/2 American guinea hog 1/4 kunekune and 1/4 potbelly. i would have loved to get a couple of them to raise more on pasture but still have almost half a hog in my freezer so i really don't need them. my ex use to say there is a difference between wants and needs and as much as i hate to admit it, he's right. have you thought about putting the pigs in the garden thru the winter and letting them work the dirt for you? then you could butcher them in the spring before garden time. aren't i just a bad influence?

 

[Denim Deb]

Yes, you are. I'd love to raise a pig, but I don't have room at the farm, and I don't think the neighbors would be too happy if I had one here.

 

[Britesea]

I don't think raising a pig is gonna happen- DH just doesn't want to deal with that. So onward to the auction we go...

I don't have any errands in town today, so I'm going to work on filling the new shelves. I made enough room to store buckets 2 deep on the bottom shelves. The sealed buckets are out of the way in the long-term storage, but the ones that have been broached are stacked up in the dining room. I figure I'll list what is where on that bottom shelf, so I don't have to pull everything out to get to the one filled with oats, etc. Each bucket has a corresponding half-gallon jar or 2-liter repurposed soda bottle that has enough product for everyday use. That goes on the higher shelves, where it is easier to find.
This looks like I'll be able to get everything put away neatly, with nothing pooling on the floor making a walking hazard.

I'm going to start testing what my blood sugar looks like with various grains and other carbs. Rice, even brown rice just doesn't seem to be a smart thing for me to eat (or store), as every time I do my glucose levels are unacceptable the following morning. I know I can eat pasta without that response, but I am not sure about other grains like barley, quinoa, corn, etc. I've heard forbidden rice has a lower GI, so maybe that would work.

DH came home furious last night. One of the other mechanics demanded time off to go to a funeral, which he's known about for a couple of days but didn't bother to put in a formal request for time off. He got to go, but it made the boss angry and somehow he's decided to be mad at DH instead of the guy that started it. Also, another employee has been spreading nasty rumors about DH- like he's been sleeping on the job at night. He did doze off once over his lunch and the other guy found him, but that was his lunch time, not while he was supposed to be working. Of course, they don't really believe he should have time for lunch since he works a straight 8 hours and they begrudge him that 30 minute paid break he's entitled to. Anyway, it looks like the boss is going to deny the 2 days off he asked for at the end of the week-- which bites because he's got 19 1/2 hours of vacation that he will lose off the books if he doesn't take them before August 20th. Hopefully, the union will go to bat for him and get him compensation pay or something if that happens, but we are not sanguine; this is a lousy union, one of the most corrupt ones.

All I can do to help him is grimly keep cutting corners and paying off our debt as fast as possible. He turns 59 1/2 on August 27 next year, at which time he could retire and start drawing on his first retirement account-- but not if we still have two mortgages to deal with.

 

[goatgurl]

i know that basmati rice is suppose to have a lower glycemic index than even brown rice. of course i found that out after i had bought 10# of brown rice so i haven't tried it testing my sugar after i eat it. corn it the grain that tears my blood sugar up but i love it and eat it once in a while anyway.
give DH a hug from me. i know what it's like to work with immature people. I'm so glad i retired at 62. i was so tired of dealing with 6th graders. I'm broke all the time but a lot happier and that's worth a million bucks.

 

[Britesea]

Life goes on, will we,nill we. Millie finally went into heat late last night, and OF COURSE, I had forgotten to buy pads for her. I had to mop the floor first thing. I took her to the vet's office to check on her vulva and yes, it has relaxed a bit and is less tucked-up. I was going to have the vet spay her as soon as possible until he explained that doing the surgery while she is in heat will make her recovery more painful, even though they CAN do it. So I opted to wait until next month. I never expected her to still be an intact female at one year of age! And she's really squirrely because of the hormones right now.

Anyway, I managed to pick up some pads for her as well as a new collar- she had broken the plastic clasp on the last one so I made sure to get one with a metal buckle. Boy, those are not common anymore!

By that time, it was time to go to the Produce Connection to see what goodies the farmers had for us this week-- more apples, more potatoes, more onions... but also cucumbers, fresh corn on the cob, cauliflower and watermelon. Millie was able to stay in the car because it wasn't hot and there was a nice breeze blowing through the open windows. The kid that helped me carry the veggies back to the car commented on how well behaved (hah! little does he know!) and pretty she is.

We are having the corn tonight since I know it won't hold, but I don't have room in the fridge for the cauliflower so it's gonna have to sit in the utility room until tomorrow. I'll probably freeze them but I don't have time tonight after cleaning the kitchen.

I also need to get serious and dry all these apples- I've still got the untouched bags from the last 2 weeks as well as today's.

It's nice having all this produce since I'm making the biggest payments I can on the bills. I'll be paying one off this Thursday with this coming paycheck, and then 1 more will be finished with the following payday 2 weeks later. It's such a satisfying feeling to cross them off! The hope of being able to retire in a year is all that's keeping my husband going, I think.

 

[wyoDreamer]

I love dehydrated apples!
I will can some of our apples as pie filling and more will become applesauce. With all the storms we have been having, a lot of un-ripe apples have fallen off the trees - hopefully I will get enough to be able to make some dehydrated slices.

So sorry to hear that DH is having such issues at work. I had a job like that and luckily it was a 45 minute drive home and I could get work out of my head before getting home. There was a time or two where I had to pull over to the side of the road and cry it out before continuing on though (I am such a girl at times).

 

[Britesea]

I'd rather be a girl anyday; kinda sorry for the guys that think the only emotion they are allowed to express is anger.

 

[Britesea]

I was on the news today! I went to an event celebrating women veterans, and the news was there and they caught me on the video.
(for those that are interested, the video is at http://www.kdrv.com/news/SORCC_Celebrates_Women_Veterans_.html
I'm the one with silver hair in the aqua top between 2 women in purple at :30 seconds)

It was a fun event- we heard from a couple of speakers: one who served during the Vietnam War, and one from the late '90's who ended up helping out victims of a big earthquake in Turkey. Good food, some prizes were given out, and just generally a pleasant day out.

I made some watermelon sorbet with some of the fruit, and we've been eating it fresh every night. I'm going to try making some watermelon pickles; haven't done that in years.

The smoke here is getting worse again; most of it is coming up from California but we are pretty much surrounded here. I have to keep the windows closed and that means I have to turn on the air conditioner and the air purifier. I'm not looking forward to the next power bill.

I've been having fun trying some new recipes lately. The first one was a remoulade made with daikon radish; I cooked some nice sausages and diced them into it as well. The daikon was not as strong as I feared but it still had a nice bite to it that was a pleasant contrast to the sausages.
Last night, I made a greek-seasoned meatloaf, stuffed with feta and served with a tzatziki sauce at table. It was a little like gyros, but without the pita bread.

So now, I'm trying to figure out what can follow these... maybe some fajitas and seasoned black beans and tortillas? With the watermelon sorbet... or should it be the peach sorbet?

 

[goatgurl]

definitely peach. and now that you are a tv star do we have to be nicer to you? glad you enjoyed your day out. and just so you know there are people out here that really appreciate your service to our country. thank you!

 

[Britesea]

Thank you @goatgurl although I never felt like I had done very much. My tour was basically a series of rather boring jobs, *sigh*

I only have two more sessions with the physical therapist; I'll be glad to get that out of the way because it takes up a lot of my time that could be spent doing other things. But I am pleased with the results of this last month: no more pain, I'm walking better (no more waddling side to side!) and I'm not so depressed anymore because I feel good . I intend to continue doing at least some of the excercises they taught me, that are designed to strengthen the muscles in my back to keep my pelvis from tilting (which apparently was the basic problem). Hopefully this will keep my back from seizing up in the future.

I have some good stock to can up that I made from some of the bones I got when I bought my hind quarter of beef. Then I'm heading over to the Produce Connection to see what I can get today. I've taken to not buying any produce on Thursday (my regular shopping day) until I see what I get at the Connection, and also what shows up at the Farmers' Market on Saturday. We are finally seeing the summer produce coming in.

I also have the fat from making the stock, which I carefully poured through a sieve to remove the BCB's (Burnt, Crunchy Bits). I want to save and refine it for other uses. The fat from grass-fed cattle is full of good Omega-3, unlike grain fed or grain finished beef; I think I might be able to use it similar to schmaltz (chicken fat).

Found another recipe to try:

Avocado Deviled Eggs

Mash 1 large avocado with 3 egg yolks. Add 1 tsp. cilantro, 3 tsp lime juice, 1 tbsp red onion, and a pinch of salt and pepper. Top with a sprinkle of chili or paprika and more cilantro.