NoobieChickenLady's Journal - SS Score and Mah Kitteh is HOME!! Yay!

Sorry, NCL, about your chicken losses....that hurts! :( Tomorrow's another day on the smoking lapse....you WILL kick that monkey right off your back! :)
 
Congratulations about getting your Granny moved! That was an achievement and you wont have to be worried about her now. Sorry about your chickens. Free ranging is great, but a safe run is gonna be better for you. I've heard that Rocks, Buff Orps, Dominiques, Sussex, and Wyandote are supposed to still lay well in the winter. Don't know if you want to stick with one breed or mix it up.

I told the hubby I want to make my own yogurt. I can go through alot of it so it will be cheaper. HOw long do you strain it?

That crowd on Thanksgiving was terrible for a new nonsmoker. You'll get there. Hope you're having Christmas at your own place so you can catch a break this time.
 
Thanks Bee :)
DL, my mom is the bomb, she did the majority of the work herself. I did get to help on the harder physical stuff & installing things.
My two remaining hens are sleeping inside, and are able to mosey about the yard during the day (when it's not spitting cold rain bleh) But I am thinking a run would be better. Or at least a tractor.

I will never buy yogurt again, unless I need some starter for some reason. I strain mine overnight or so, sometimes a little longer. Just until it's thick enough for my liking.

We swap up yearly, Thanksgiving & Christmas, between the two families, so yes, Christmas is at home this year. Only 1 of my relatives is a smoker, so thank God, he'll be banished outside to the porch.

Now, on to the great things that happened this weekend. I guess the stars were in alignment, or God wanted me to go ahead and have a winter garden. A local farm store, that I rarely visit because they are out of the way, GAVE me plants. I asked for prices, dude said "Get what you want, we've not sold any for months." :ep

I got strawberries, purple & green cabbage, dill, lettuces, brussels sprouts, kale, broccoli, cauliflower and peppermint!
Then, I talked DH into finishing the raised beds we'd started, so we bought enough dirt & composted cow manure to finish them out. We got everything planted & using stuff we had laying around the yard (fence top rails, huge roll of plastic, chicken wire) we finished out the beds, covered them with clear plastic for a greenhouse effect & have protection from the remaining chickens, rabbits & deer. Woo Hoo!!! We'll add electric fence around the whole perimeter after we add a couple more beds.

My granny gave me a bookcase to put canned goods on, some jelly she made a few years ago (strawberry & plum, yum!), a 2 quart FOLEY FOOD MILL!!!, a sheet & half of 1/2" plywood, many many cinderblocks and a over the door shoe rack.

I didn't quit on Friday, but I made the half-pack I had on Thursday night last until today without blowing up on DH.

All in all, it was a great weekend :D
 
This will be my first time making yogurt but but an old BF used to make a gallon every couple weeks, so I've seen it done lots of times.

Great score on the plants! Careful with the peppermint. That stuff wants to take over the world. Your garden is gonna be great.

Strawberry and plum jelly sounds yummy. That bookcase will be a great pantry. I used to use one for it. Gallon jars worked great for flour, beans, pasta, etc. You could do some canning together with your Granny next harvest if she still likes to.
 
Thanks Lori! I was flaberghasted! I waited 15 minutes for the owner to get off the phone so I could thank him personally. I won't say they'll get all my business from now on, but I will be visiting them much more often.
DL, Granny taught me how to can, many years ago when she was able to get around well. She started crying a couple of weeks ago when we were picking out stuff to go to the new house and said "How am I going to pay you all for doing this for me?!?"
I just hugged her and said "If you just feel you HAVE to pay me Granny, teach me how to make sauerkraut without killing myself."
She laughed and said that now she has a decent kitchen, she'll be happy to supervise. She's going to sit in a comfy chair in the kitchen & do all the talking & taste testing, while I do the work. We're going to pickle some cauliflower, too. She said she was just happy one of her decendants wants to learn something from her :/
My granny is the coolest :cool:

Way ahead of you DL, the peppermint is going in a container I found on the side of the road. Nice heavy plastic planter :)
 
I know what you mean, my granny was here when we butchered our first chicken and she taught us how to eviscerate it and make chicken and dumplins. She was so proud!!! ;)
 
I just looked out my office window & Mississippi - We Have SNOW!

It's not going to stick, as the ground isn't frozen and it's wet, but it's pretty to watch it falling.

An ice storm is a possibility tonight, I'm glad we have a full freezer & pantry. We have an indoor portable propane heater with lots of replacement tanks, zero degree sleeping bags & a gas stove with 275 gallons in the tank. We'll fill the garden tub with water tonight, just in case the pipes freeze, although we'll leave them dripping a bit tonight. Don't want to break into the stored water if we don't have to.

But if the power goes out, we'll be warm & will be able to eat & heat water.

Granny's been sick with a cold, so she's not up to canning anything. I took her some tea with peppermint and a pair of warm soft wool socks I was given. They are too small and she has tiny feet, size 5 I think? I wear an 8-1/2, ha! She wants me to make her some more salsa, the "hot" stuff mama got for her is too mild she says, wants some HEAT :D
 
We made it through the night with no pipe ruptures & no ice storm. It got C-C-COLD! It's 16 right now. Partly sunny & snowing again with just a little accumulation, but at least it's not icy. I have too many bridges & high hills to travel to enjoy icy roads.

I'm getting out in the woods tomorrow! Woo hoo, we don't have anything planned to do tomorrow, I have my gun, my orange, my camo, my ammo, a babysitter and a great book to read.

Everything I Want To Do Is Illegal came in 2 days ago via Inter Library loan. I've been waiting for about 8 months. Apparently, there is only one copy in the entire state, and we all want to read it. It had library recipts from all over the state tucked in it.

I'm about halfway through it, I just finished the chapter on conservation easements. I think I'm in love. :)
 
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