keljonma's Front Porch - Settling in and adjusting

[BeccaOH]

Good to hear from you Becca! How are things at your place? Are those Ladies behaving or have they given up egg laying for the winter?

I have Rachel, Hannah, Betty, and Mary (Columbian Wyandotte - I get confused with Martha), and I don't think any are laying. They are with a group in my back coop where I think only my spring BA's are laying. The Ladies are behaving, but like my other chickens, they have no interest is going out in the snow. I left them half of my last small pumpkin today. We'll see what they do with it.

 

[keljonma]

The waterers are freezing...that's for sure. We're rotating out every few hours.

That is sure not fun! I noticed this year that our wind chill has not been as bad as it has been in years past. How is the wind down your way? I hated changing the frozen waterers always. But it never seemed to be as bad when it was just cold, as when it was cold and very windy.

 

[keljonma]

Good to hear from you Becca! How are things at your place? Are those Ladies behaving or have they given up egg laying for the winter?

I have Rachel, Hannah, Betty, and Mary (Columbian Wyandotte - I get confused with Martha), and I don't think any are laying. They are with a group in my back coop where I think only my spring BA's are laying. The Ladies are behaving, but like my other chickens, they have no interest is going out in the snow. I left them half of my last small pumpkin today. We'll see what they do with it.

I am not surprised to hear that they don't have any interest in going out into the snow. We used to feed The Ladies pumpkin all the time - sometimes it was pureed first...because they were a *little* spoiled.

I never worried about getting eggs in the winter - although I hate buying eggs - I figured The Ladies should use their energy to stay warm instead. This is the warmest winter so far since we moved back to Ohio. So this will be the warmest winter for The Ladies ... maybe especially since they are quite a bit further south this year.

Is Hannah still as uninterested in people as she always was in the past? Are Mary and Betty still plotting mischief? Rachel was always the queen of that group (as you could probably guess)!


edited for typos

 

[keljonma]

The sun is shining today (Sat) but we have 15 degrees and it is cold.

Everything is still covered in ice. Some of the icicles are touching the ground - so about 10 feet long.

The electric company has been near our place the last 4 nights in a row, trimming trees near the power lines. A number of lines have come down in other areas because of the ice. So I don't mind their working at night; better that than no power.

TR is off work this week-end and we are doing bits and bobs of things. Today we took down the Christmas stuff and packed it away for another year.

We took the 16 quarts of turkey broth and the cut up turkey to church today. Tomorrow during Sunday class and second worship service, I will finish cooking it and make the dumplings.

While I cleaned the church kitchen, TR ran some errands and bought bird seed and dog food.

One of the fellas TR works with is having surgery soon. He will be off work for 8 weeks. This fella works 3rd shift Monday to Friday and gets every week-end off.

Since TR has the most seniority of all the men on staff, he gets the first chance to say he wants to work this fella's shift while he is on medical leave. So it looks like TR will be changing to 3rd shift for a while. The good news is that he won't have to work any week-ends.


Stay warm!!

 

[ohiofarmgirl]

hey kelonma!

so glad you got some sun! one of my buddy's said the sun was peaking out up there! we had overcast and it stankin' continued to snow most of the day down there... not that it amounted to anything!

this had definitely been our coldest winter since i got here!

dontcha just love church suppers?

 

[keljonma]

We had a great turnout for 2nd Sunday lunch! And there was only about a pint of turkey and dumplings left out of the 3 1/2 gallons I made!

I heard on the radio today that we are supposed to get to 30 today and almost 40 by Thursday or Friday. And SUN is in the forecast!

We have some water dripping between the plastic windows and the storm windows and between the storm door and wood door in the sun room. Obviously there is a problem at the roof line because the snow and ice are all jammed at the roof line (we don't have gutters there). A portion of the roof inside the sun room is also leaking a bit. TR put a bucket under it, so we can monitor the amount. TR was also outside this morning, knocking ice off the roof, but I think we are going to have to tell the landlord about it. This could be ugly.

We started the Respectable Sins by Jerry Bridges study on Sunday. We are reading the first 3 chapters of the book and the first chapter in the study guide. I am convicted..... lack of patience is just one of the respectables I am guilty of...... I guess God knew I needed this study at this time of my life.

TR is still working full-time hours as a part-time employee. The Environmental Services Dept is at least 3 people short (3 not replaced last year) and now they have 2 or 3 people out on or about to go on medical leave. Moral is really low at the hospital now because there is a hiring freeze and everyone is expected to pick up the slack.

I have been doing stuff at home and Bible study. I am behind on the research for the church stove, but I do have some time left for that.

Yesterday I made laundry soap .... I wish I could post a pic.... I made 26 quarts of soap. Most of it is in canning jars until I can get some plastic detergent jugs from the ladies at church.

I best get home - we are going to get some wall painting done in the small bedroom upstairs and TR is going to paint the ceiling in the downstairs bedroom.

 

[keljonma]

38 yesterday and 42 today. Rain.... so far not the freezy rain the forecast called for earlier this week. YAH!

Life in general has not changed. Spackling and painting the small bedroom upstairs not done yet - as I am near the deadline for the stove research for the board of trustees at church. They meet on Monday night.

I've been mentally picking out seeds for the spring garden. Missing The Ladies. Missing having the internet at home. And poor Titan still battling the fleas! We found that the sun room ceiling really is leaking - but very slowly .... it is making me feel dismal. We have a bucket under it and have gotten about an inch in 12 hours. So I am thankful that it is a slow leak and not a gusher.

Sure sounds like I woke up on the cranky side of the bed today! Honest, I didn't.... I guess I just have the winter doldrums.

We had some baked garlic fish for dinner last night steak fries and a large tossed salad (greens, onions, mushrooms, tomatoes, green peppers). Then we had some homemade apple-dried cranberry pie with coffee for dessert.

The bracket came off my muffler in the drive last night (slid into a snow bank in the yard because every thing snow-covered is now becoming ice-covered with the rain. I am praying the muffler stays put until TR has a chance to put a replacement bracket or some wire coat hanger up to hold it in place.

There is a funeral dinner later this afternoon at church, so I went today and cleaned the kitchen - for an hour instead of the usual two hours.

I guess I should get back to stove research! Hope all are doing well..........

 

[keljonma]

Unlike down by QA & Becca, we haven't seen any rain up here. Lots of fog the past 2 or 3 mornings though. We were doing 45 mph on 65 mph Rte 11 to get TR to work yesterday; this morning's fog wasn't as bad. The forecast is calling for sun today, but we haven't actually seen it yet. I sure could use some sun.

We have 6 inches of iced over snow covering everything ... except the path TR shoveled for Titan - where there is actually dark green grass and lotsa mud.

Titan is having trouble getting up and down the back porch steps these days. The temps at night are in the mid to low 20s, so the water-logged steps are covered with ice in the mornings. I think Titan has slipped on some of the ice a couple of times. I am thankful I have my ice grips for my shoes/boots.

This will be TR's last week on 1st shift. Starting the 25th, he will go to a modified 2nd shift. The blessing is that he won't have to work week-ends at all while on this shift. He is working this modified 2nd shift for a worker that is going on medical leave until the end of March.

We are trying to figure out how we could get the yard set up for The Ladies.... Not an easy task at the moment. This crazy winter hasn't given us a great deal of info on how the wind blows and snows drift. But we have a clue. There are a couple posts here that we can use for part of a fenced area. Unfortunately, The Ladies would have to be fenced here, as we are on a major road and surrounded by open fields and woods.

There is a small area right next to the house and back porch that would possible work for shelter, but it is right next to the drive and parking area of the drive. So it would not be the safest place. Soooooo....... still a work in process.

Yesterday TR was browsing the camera files on the computer. He found an old video of Sam crowing on the front porch at the farm last July. He turned the volume up and I could hear Sam crowing all the way upstairs! Titan started barking like mad. It was a sad/funny start to the day.

I made bread this morning before coming to the library. Yesterday we had black bean burgers for dinner. I said to TR - Last time I made these, we decided something was missing (I meant a seasoning). TR said - I KNOW what is missing! The meat! Funny guy. Regardless, he did eat one and took one for his lunch today at work. So obviously they weren't bad.

**
Our United Methodist Women's group is having a chocolate fest February 12th. It will be held at the church:
Jefferson United Methodist Church
125 East Jefferson Street
Jefferson, OH 44047

The doors open at 6:30 pm, and the event starts at 6:45 pm. We will start the evening with chocolate fountains and continue with a buffet of chocolate desserts. Come join us for an evening of fun, fellowship and everything chocolate!

Feeling creative? You can decorate a table for this event. There will be a prize awarded for the best table. If youre interested in table decorating, call the church office and leave a message for Eileen Arrington. Bring your friends and a chocolate dessert and enjoy. There will be a love offering taken. Please RSVP by February 7, 2010, by calling the church office at 440-576-4561.

**

Here is the recipe for the black bean burgers.


Black Bean Burgers

1/2 onion, diced
1 can black beans - do not drain
1/2 cup flour
2 slices bread, crumbled
1 tsp garlic powder
1 tsp onion powder
1/2 tsp seasoned salt
pepper to taste
oil for frying

Sautee the onions till soft, about 3-5 minutes.

In a large bowl, mash the beans until almost smooth. Add sauted onions and the rest of the ingredients, except the oil, adding the flour a few tablespoons at a time to combine well. Mixture will be thick.

Form bean mixture into patties, approximately 1/2 inch thick and fry patties in a small amount of oil until slightly firm.

 

[murphysranch]

One of my cattle dogs is named Titan. He's my lover boy, and is coming up on 4 yrs old. I'm also a Methodist, but sadly its been decades since I've been to church. I don't think DH would eat a bean burger, but I WOULD! I'll have to try the recipe. I've got two cans of Black Beans in the pantry. I used a can over the new years for a terrific black bean feta spread. Its still wonderful, as I'm finishing it up for lunches.

 

[keljonma]

Hey MR! We didn't name Titan - he was already named when we adopted him from a shelter when he was over a year old. Titan, our Great Pyr, is I think close to 90 in people years. I think we have been lucky to have him this long - according to our vet, most big dogs don't live to see 12.

I love black beans - beans in general are very versatile. I am thinking that the black bean burgers would have been good with some diced sauteed portabello mushrooms in them as well, which would have given them a more meaty flavor. Maybe next time. I don't make the black bean burgers often - about 2 or 3 times a year. I'm not sure why that is, so maybe I'll make 2010 the year of the bean..

We really like the many ministries available at the JUMC. There are about 400 members, so while not a mega-church, it is considered a very large church for our rural area.

We shopped around for a church when we moved back to Ohio from Texas and it took us a couple years to find this one. We attended a number of churches - Seventh Day Adventist, Lutheran, Baptist, non-denominational, and the Methodist. We really liked the non-denominational Bible-based Parkside Church in Chagrin Falls, but it is too far away for us. We became members of JUMC because we wanted to have a voice in the ministry programs.