Dawn419
Almost Self-Reliant
So glad to hear that you and Little Man are both on the mend!!! 
SSDreamin Blessings and curses
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Wannabefree
Little Miss Sunshine
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It's great your littl guy is doing better. YOU take care of yourself sister!!! I hope you make a quick recovery hun
Denim Deb
More Precious than Rubies
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Don't push yourself too hard too fast. It doesn't pay. I think the reason I'm still having problems w/my knee is because I did too much too soon. :/ You have someone willing to help-I didn't. So, take advantage of it while you can!
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SSDreamin
Almost Self-Reliant
Thanks for the kind words everybody!
One week down
I no longer shuffle-walk like Ozzy Osborne 
DH has forced me to call the Dr about a couple issues that I felt were really nothing - I was right! Nurse said hubby needs a hobby, he's too much of a worry wart I am very thankful that he stayed home ALL week (although its without pay, so it will hurt for a while 
), and he had his heart in the right place but, by Friday, I had to find something else for him to do! He built me a beautiful new patio off the back of the house, which has a little story behind it. He told me he would build my greenhouse, which we bought as a kit months ago at a really good sale. I was soooo happy! Well, he decided to please me even more, and re-use some cinder blocks we have as the foundation. Our back 'stoop' was made from buried cinder blocks and it drove both of us up a wall. He dug them all up, and moved them to the site for the greenhouse. That, of-course, made stepping out the back door (the best way out to the animals - the ONLY way out to them for me right now), almost impossible. There was a 2' drop right outside the door! The only way out for me was to work my way to a sitting position on the floor, inch my way down, then crawl out of the hole onto the lawn DH went to Lowe's, and put a deck on our credit card ( 
So much for doing things on the cheap 
) and he and DS built the deck. It is almost level with the height of the yard, and will be once grass comes in. Then, he leveled the yard, using some of the dug dirt to fill in the weird dips and whatnot that covered it. Now, we will use a bit of the grass seed we bought last month for the pasture, to reseed the yard. It was SO NICE sitting out there last night! 
My guys are so good to me! Oh, Iforgot - the foundation is in for the greenhouse, but nothing is built yet. He ran out of time
DH was in charge of the garden all week, and it seems to love him more too, just like the animals He picked 2 gallon bags full of wax & green beans, about 10# of tomatoes, a big basket of jalapenos/Thai/super chili peppers and 3 nice looking cukes! I will have to can up the beans ( can I can them without salt? They don't HAVE to have it, do they?) tomorrow. I ran all the tomatoes through the strainer, with DS's help, and bagged them/put them in the freezer for now. Used a bunch of the jalapenos he got to make poppers! Planned to let them eat some, then freeze some. Yeah, right They inhaled ALL of them! Still have LOTS more peppers - plan to can some, dry some, and TRY to make up a whole bunch of poppers and HIDE them
My guys stink at cooking, and made some pretty bad excuses to get out of it, so I was back on cooking dinner duty by Wednesday They both took turns doing dishes though, so that was SO nice! Tried WBF's recipe for bread on Saturday. It fell too :/ DH watched the second batch - it rose beautifully, did fantastic in the oven until the oven reached tempurature and beeped. Then, it fell. ???? Gotta be a problem with the oven. Maybe, too much temp flux? 
One week down
I no longer shuffle-walk like Ozzy Osborne DH has forced me to call the Dr about a couple issues that I felt were really nothing - I was right! Nurse said hubby needs a hobby, he's too much of a worry wart I am very thankful that he stayed home ALL week (although its without pay, so it will hurt for a while ), and he had his heart in the right place but, by Friday, I had to find something else for him to do! He built me a beautiful new patio off the back of the house, which has a little story behind it. He told me he would build my greenhouse, which we bought as a kit months ago at a really good sale. I was soooo happy! Well, he decided to please me even more, and re-use some cinder blocks we have as the foundation. Our back 'stoop' was made from buried cinder blocks and it drove both of us up a wall. He dug them all up, and moved them to the site for the greenhouse. That, of-course, made stepping out the back door (the best way out to the animals - the ONLY way out to them for me right now), almost impossible. There was a 2' drop right outside the door! The only way out for me was to work my way to a sitting position on the floor, inch my way down, then crawl out of the hole onto the lawn DH went to Lowe's, and put a deck on our credit card ( So much for doing things on the cheap ) and he and DS built the deck. It is almost level with the height of the yard, and will be once grass comes in. Then, he leveled the yard, using some of the dug dirt to fill in the weird dips and whatnot that covered it. Now, we will use a bit of the grass seed we bought last month for the pasture, to reseed the yard. It was SO NICE sitting out there last night! My guys are so good to me! Oh, Iforgot - the foundation is in for the greenhouse, but nothing is built yet. He ran out of time DH was in charge of the garden all week, and it seems to love him more too, just like the animals
He picked 2 gallon bags full of wax & green beans, about 10# of tomatoes, a big basket of jalapenos/Thai/super chili peppers and 3 nice looking cukes! I will have to can up the beans ( can I can them without salt? They don't HAVE to have it, do they?) tomorrow. I ran all the tomatoes through the strainer, with DS's help, and bagged them/put them in the freezer for now. Used a bunch of the jalapenos he got to make poppers! Planned to let them eat some, then freeze some. Yeah, right They inhaled ALL of them! Still have LOTS more peppers - plan to can some, dry some, and TRY to make up a whole bunch of poppers and HIDE them My guys stink at cooking, and made some pretty bad excuses to get out of it, so I was back on cooking dinner duty by Wednesday
They both took turns doing dishes though, so that was SO nice! Tried WBF's recipe for bread on Saturday. It fell too :/ DH watched the second batch - it rose beautifully, did fantastic in the oven until the oven reached tempurature and beeped. Then, it fell. ???? Gotta be a problem with the oven. Maybe, too much temp flux?
Wannabefree
Little Miss Sunshine
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I think the salt in the beans helps with the preservation, but don't quote me on that.
Probably is your oven temp flux. That's the only thing I can think of maybe turn it down 25 degrees and bake an extra 3-5 minutes and see if that works better.
Probably is your oven temp flux. That's the only thing I can think of
maybe turn it down 25 degrees and bake an extra 3-5 minutes and see if that works better.
BarredBuff
El Presidente de Pollo
According to Jackie Clay, no salt if you don't want any. Its just seasoning Glad you are better!
Glad you are better!- Thread starter
- #567
SSDreamin
Almost Self-Reliant
Good ol' Jackie! Now, why didn't I think to check with her first?!
WBF, I was talking about options with DH and had a total DUH! moment - the stove is a fancy-pants model (that was purchased at a HUGE discount because of a mammoth dent and chipped paint ) that has convection! Every time I baked ONE loaf of bread, it turned out fine. Two or more, they fall. This next time, I'm going to bake them with convection! I always bake my cookies that way - three cookie sheets at once, all cooked exactly the same amount - so maybe my bread just needs the air circulation! If not, then I try the reduced temp, and see if I can borrow an oven thermometer from somebody, to check the temp flux.
Yesterday, my father and stepmother graced me with their presence They dropped off my birthday present, which was really neat - so I know my father picked it out. He said "I saw this and immediately thought of you." Well, at least he thinks of me on occasion! It's a book called 'Old-time Country Wisdom & Lore' and it's filled with all kinds of cool stuff, and some really weird stuff. There is a whole section on telling the weather - using the clouds, animals, the moon. How to plant by the moon, make dyes from plants (including hair dye ), herbal medicine and 'rural remedies', making 'coffee' from things that are around - like dandelion roots or sunflower seeds, how to make your own rennet for cheese (I think I'm gonna just try to keep the commercial kind on hand - yuck!). Several things were NOT going to be tried ('restoring tainted meat' jumps to mind. No thank you!). Just a fun, fascinating book! If anybody decides to get it, don't expect detailed instructions for everything. Mostly, it's a lot of helpful hints, with some instructions for things in each chapter.
Of-course they had to see my menagerie, as they call it, of animals. I think my father was really hoping to pick on me about the cows, but he was fascinated by them! Little Man, being the sweetie he is, won him right over! He actually said "guess you DON'T need goats, since these can't possibly eat much more than a goat themselves." DING DING DING! That's what I've been trying to tell you all this time, you cray old man! He loved DH's barn, and the pasture, and asked all kinds of questions about dealing with the cows. I think he misses the farm a lot more than he lets on!
My stepmother hates my dog. Well, to Rocky, that is an open challenge! He would NOT leave her alone! He followed her everywhere, got right in her face when she sat down, and generally made a nuisance of himself until she petted him! All she had to do was pat him on the head and say "hi, Rocky", but she just wouldn't do it, so he INSISTED they be friends! It was pretty funny to watch!
there/their/they're. Oh poo, you know what I meant!
WBF, I was talking about options with DH and had a total DUH! moment - the stove is a fancy-pants model (that was purchased at a HUGE discount because of a mammoth dent and chipped paint
) that has convection! Every time I baked ONE loaf of bread, it turned out fine. Two or more, they fall. This next time, I'm going to bake them with convection! I always bake my cookies that way - three cookie sheets at once, all cooked exactly the same amount - so maybe my bread just needs the air circulation! If not, then I try the reduced temp, and see if I can borrow an oven thermometer from somebody, to check the temp flux.Yesterday, my father and stepmother graced me with their presence
They dropped off my birthday present, which was really neat - so I know my father picked it out. He said "I saw this and immediately thought of you." Well, at least he thinks of me on occasion! It's a book called 'Old-time Country Wisdom & Lore' and it's filled with all kinds of cool stuff, and some really weird stuff. There is a whole section on telling the weather - using the clouds, animals, the moon. How to plant by the moon, make dyes from plants (including hair dye ), herbal medicine and 'rural remedies', making 'coffee' from things that are around - like dandelion roots or sunflower seeds, how to make your own rennet for cheese (I think I'm gonna just try to keep the commercial kind on hand - yuck!). Several things were NOT going to be tried ('restoring tainted meat' jumps to mind. No thank you!). Just a fun, fascinating book! If anybody decides to get it, don't expect detailed instructions for everything. Mostly, it's a lot of helpful hints, with some instructions for things in each chapter. Of-course they had to see my menagerie, as they call it, of animals. I think my father was really hoping to pick on me about the cows, but he was fascinated by them! Little Man, being the sweetie he is, won him right over! He actually said "guess you DON'T need goats, since these can't possibly eat much more than a goat themselves." DING DING DING! That's what I've been trying to tell you all this time, you cray old man!
He loved DH's barn, and the pasture, and asked all kinds of questions about dealing with the cows. I think he misses the farm a lot more than he lets on!My stepmother hates my dog. Well, to Rocky, that is an open challenge! He would NOT leave her alone! He followed her everywhere, got right in her face when she sat down, and generally made a nuisance of himself until she petted him!
All she had to do was pat him on the head and say "hi, Rocky", but she just wouldn't do it, so he INSISTED they be friends! It was pretty funny to watch!there/their/they're. Oh poo, you know what I meant!
snapshot
Farmwife
Ha! Cats are like that too! They head towards the one who says they don't like cats! Like me. Always end up in my lap.
You can make rennet from figs if I remember right. Glad you and yours are doing well!
My bread falls when I forget and let it rise too long.
You can make rennet from figs if I remember right. Glad you and yours are doing well!
My bread falls when I forget and let it rise too long.
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- #569
SSDreamin
Almost Self-Reliant
The 3 'oldest' BA's have started laying! 
It's a good thing too, as MIL has taken all the eggs my Buff's can put out lately! Despite egg prices in the stores staying steady at 88 cents, she said demand for 'real' eggs has jumped dramatically in recent weeks and her girls can't keep up. OK by me, I get pocket money and, since Mike isn't home, we haven't been eating as many eggs anyway. The BA eggs are... interesting. They stand up much better in the pan than even the Buff eggs do. I'm using 2 of their robin eggs (that's what I call them ) to 1 regular egg. Can't wait until the 4 littlest ones start! I'll be egg poor
It has been raining here - a nice, light, soaking rain, since last night. Checked the rain gauge, .25 inches so far. Supposed to continue through today and into tomorrow. Wish I'd been on my toes, I should've spread some grass seed out :/
DH comes home tonight. We have a full weekend planned (and by We I mean He and DS ). They need to pick up and store the rest of the hay (he called and said it's ready and waiting - on a wagon in his barn- on Tuesday), if the rain lets up. I have been told the greenhouse should be finished too DH also wants to work on clearing brush in the pasture and, if there's time left, start on the pig pen fencing. It sure can be nice having my very own energizer bunny, but most days he just makes me look like a terrible slacker!
It's a good thing too, as MIL has taken all the eggs my Buff's can put out lately! Despite egg prices in the stores staying steady at 88 cents, she said demand for 'real' eggs has jumped dramatically in recent weeks and her girls can't keep up. OK by me, I get pocket money and, since Mike isn't home, we haven't been eating as many eggs anyway. The BA eggs are... interesting. They stand up much better in the pan than even the Buff eggs do. I'm using 2 of their robin eggs (that's what I call them ) to 1 regular egg. Can't wait until the 4 littlest ones start! I'll be egg poor It has been raining here - a nice, light, soaking rain, since last night. Checked the rain gauge, .25 inches so far. Supposed to continue through today and into tomorrow. Wish I'd been on my toes, I should've spread some grass seed out :/
DH comes home tonight. We have a full weekend planned (and by We I mean He and DS
). They need to pick up and store the rest of the hay (he called and said it's ready and waiting - on a wagon in his barn- on Tuesday), if the rain lets up. I have been told the greenhouse should be finished too DH also wants to work on clearing brush in the pasture and, if there's time left, start on the pig pen fencing. It sure can be nice having my very own energizer bunny, but most days he just makes me look like a terrible slacker! - Thread starter
- #570
SSDreamin
Almost Self-Reliant
Today is sunny and cool, so the guys went and got the hay and filled up the barn (had to sneak this picture as both of them hate being in photos ):
Very thankful that my DS has stepped up and taken up the slack for me - he never even complained about having to do my job with the hay!
Feels good to have this winters hay put up! Oh, the 3 bales to the right are straw - the cows eat every scrap of this beautiful hay, so there's no 'throw off' to line their pen with!
Please excuse my scruffy truck
All the cooler/rainy weather lately has made me sick :/ I think yesterday sealed it- rain all day and a high of 68. I know, I SHOULD NOT be complaining about either, but being sick while I'm trying to heal up stinks!
Speaking of healing, I had a set back day before yesterday. I helped DS feed the cows, and cleaned out the pen. Everything was fine while I was doing it, but afterwards I could hardly walk from the pain Yes, I am an idiot, I admit it. No more foolishness for me. Well, no more for a while, anyway
Hoping to be able to take a picture of the completed green house soon, as DH is now hard at work on it!
as both of them hate being in photos ):
Very thankful that my DS has stepped up and taken up the slack for me - he never even complained about having to do my job with the hay!
Feels good to have this winters hay put up! Oh, the 3 bales to the right are straw - the cows eat every scrap of this beautiful hay, so there's no 'throw off' to line their pen with!
Please excuse my scruffy truck
All the cooler/rainy weather lately has made me sick :/ I think yesterday sealed it- rain all day and a high of 68. I know, I SHOULD NOT be complaining about either, but being sick while I'm trying to heal up stinks!
Speaking of healing, I had a set back day before yesterday. I helped DS feed the cows, and cleaned out the pen. Everything was fine while I was doing it, but afterwards I could hardly walk from the pain
Yes, I am an idiot, I admit it. No more foolishness for me. Well, no more for a while, anyway Hoping to be able to take a picture of the completed green house soon, as DH is now hard at work on it!
