Mutterings From The Homestead

Skyler had the flu Christmas morning but still managed to have fun. Santa had left him trucks,toys,books,balls, but the one thing he would not put down was his Duck Commander duck caller. Megan said he even used it while his brothers were reading the Christmas Story. He finally fell asleep with it and everyone got a break.

I am trying something different. I am dividing up my tasks into time slots. I give myself an hour cleaning around the animal pens a day. An hour cleaning up one certain part of the yard. An hour decluttering one dresser, closet, cabinet, etc. and the rest of the day is for everyday chores. Hopefully this will help me get things done without being overwhelmed. There is so much to go through and get rid of. I just need to keep William from bringing more in.

Have been working over the food budget. Going through pantry and freezers to see what we have and making menus from that. Using up what I have so I don't have to spend more at the grocery store. Having some really good meals with little cost. Tonight was flounder, crab cakes, slaw, mashed potatoes, corn on the cob and blueberry pie. The flounder and crab cakes were given to us this summer along with other fish that I put in freezer. The slaw was made from cabbage given to me by friend with farmers market along with the potatoes. The corn I froze from our summer garden and pie made from blueberries  I froze this summer.

I added my reading list to my side bar. I have a couple friends asking what I was reading so thought I would put my reading list up. Will try to do a small review as I finish a book in case you might want to read it. Hopefully I will remember to add and remove as it changes.

The buck we borrowed has done his deed with 3 of our 4 girls. Buttons, Lil Vicki, and Rosemary will be kidding early April. Mammy didn't come in this time but will try to catch her next time and get her bred. Snowflake went back home to his family and things have settled down in the goat pen.

That is what is going on around the homestead today. Hope you are having a blessed one!

A Very Blessed Christmas To You

Wishing your Christmas a overflowing with blessings! I am sorry I have not been blogging. Things just seem to take my time and when I do sit down to blog I am at a loss on what to post. I seem to have gotten away from the animal stories and the frugal, homesteading things going on around here. My New Year resolution is to get back to blogging the way I did when my first blog was created. Thank you for hanging in and hope you will follow along as I post  (more often I promise) in 2014.

Heading Back To The Homestead

Heading  back to the homestead tomorrow. I have been up at the mountain cabin for a couple weeks enjoying the daughters and grands. We have our family Christmas weekend this past week and it was so busy but fun! It was so great to have us all together for the entire weekend at Melody's. We played family games, watched Christmas movies, made ornaments, made cookies and candies that we delivered to shut ins as we Christmas caroled one night. We had a scavenger hunt that was so hard but so much fun it took most of a afternoon and didn't end until after dark. We had tons of food, snacks, our annual red and green pancake breakfast , Happy Birthday Jesus cake. We started with the youngest opening presents so that took a long time but was so much fun to watch as each one opened their gifts. Love our family Christmas weekends!

Melody and I did some Christmas crafts and now the cabin is all decorated. We also spent a entire day decorating the church for Christmas. The pastor said the church had never looked so beautiful. That made my day as I was worried they wouldn't like it. I got to babysit Skyler today. He had a rash and Megan didn't want him going to daycare. We had a fun day. Walked down to visit the neighbors goats and spent some time outside. We read books, played with toys, put puzzles together and just enjoyed being together. He is such a happy little one.

William has been overwhelmed with firewood orders. Trying to cut, split, deliver, and stack wood along with all the other homestead chores is a bit much. He is looking forward to my getting back to help. Bella is doing much better and actually walking on all 4 feet with just a slight limp. William says the wound is healing. I am sure I will have lots of laundry, dishes, and housework to catch up on as well as helping with the firewood. This has been a nice break but now its time to get back and try to get things done so we can get up here full time.

Granddaughter Kristine is switching to East Tennessee University this spring. Grandson Woody leaves for Ft. Benning January 21st for bootcamp. Am so glad he doesn't have to leave until after the holidays. Granddaughter Hope finishes up her senior year in a couple weeks. She will still walk across the stage with her class at the end of school year. She just doesn't have to go to anymore classes. She has a fulltime job at Drakes Software and seems to enjoy it. She wants to go to college in Wilmington, NC next year. All the other grands are busy in school and after school activities. It was great having the weekend to catch up with them and just have fun.

We had one day where it snowed enough to cover the ground but has mostly been warm while here. Next weekend is suppose to be icy so guess its a good thing I am heading back tomorrow.

Hope your Thanksgiving was the best and that your days are overflowing with blessings!

Around The Homestead

Little Chick is finally big enough to join the other chicks outside in the heated chick house. They are really wanting out as the stand in the little windows and look out at the big world. In a few weeks we will move them to a chicken tractor with a heat lamp in the closed in side. I wonder if Little Chick misses his You Tube momma and siblings? LOL

Didn't make it the craft fair/food/clothing drive at Tractor Supply last Saturday. Bella (our Great Pyrenees) got her left hind foot caught in a steel trap. It was cut really bad and she made it worse by pulling on it until she got free. We spent a couple hours looking for her as we thought she did her wandering thing again. But she was doing her patrolling of the woods behind our property. She walks the fence line along the goat and chicken pens where she has chased a few fox off. She goes down to the swamp and walks around . There are coyotes in the woods so the owner of the property likes for Bella to walk the area. He even leaves his chained gate opened a bit for her to go in and out of. Well someone decided to overlook the no trespassing signs and set trap/traps. She is on antibiotics  and pain meds for 14 days but hopefully will be okay. Her foot looks really bad but she is a sweetie each day as I clean it. Please if you set traps make sure you let anyone in that area that has children or pets know.

I will be leaving tomorrow for the mountain cabin. Will be gone a couple weeks. William and I were suppose to go up next weekend for our family Christmas weekend. Since Bella is hurt and unable to travel that far he will stay here with her. Megan has to take Gabby for a root canal 3 hrs from here tomorrow so William is taking me to meet and ride to the mountains with her. I will get to enjoy keeping Skyler happy in the car as he doesn't like to ride very long. I am looking forward to taking a break from firewood. For the past couple of months seems like all we do is cut, haul, split, deliver, stack 7 days a week. Love the extra money but man am I tired and so far behind other chores. Been rushing around the past 2 days packing, cleaning, getting things set up so it will be easier for William while I am gone. Glad we had our Thanksgiving dinner last week but he has plenty of leftovers in the freezer. He will be playing Santa for a friends school while I am gone so need to find his santa suit and freshen it up. Rusty(my Pom) will be staying here this trip. He and Bella are buddies since she is staying inside for now. Think she likes his company and he thinks he is a big dog around her . Hey, let him dream. LOL

Buttons, Lil Vicki, and Rosemary are bred by Snowflake. Mammy has come in season yet but when she does and Snowflake does his job he will be going back home to get spoiled by his human mom that misses him. April will have us with baby goats, which is good as it won't be too cold or too hot. Perfect kidding weather. We have all of our roosters sold except the 3 we are keeping. We just need to catch the others one night after they roost. We also have someone wanting the hens we aren't keeping so when I get back I will work on getting them caught and delivered. Still need to find homes for some of our ducks. We have 18 and want to keep only 4. Lucy and Ricky the Canadian geese are doing really well. They both have grown and look so good. Lucy gets mad at me and pushes the gate to her pen with her foot if I don't bring her greens when I feed. I usually feed grain before I feed greens but with her I must do greens first. Such a diva attitude this goose has but I love it.

We had weather in the upper 70's for a few days but winter type weather has returned. It is suppose to get down in the 20's again this weekend. Now if we just had some snow!

That's it from around the homestead..... Have a blessed one!!

Happy Saturday

Since Little Chick has no one to play or talk with I found a video on YouTube of a momma hen and her babies. Little Chick seem to enjoy talking to them. After this next cold spell coming through I hope to move Little Chick out with the rest of the baby chicks. Think he will enjoy the room of the heated little house over a cardboard box and heatlamp.

Finally replaced all the rusty stove pipe and got everything cleaned and put back together. Stove is humming along and keeping us and my tea kettle nice and warm. We still have plumbing to do. Have to replace the pipes underneath the house and have some rewiring to be done. Things keep us busy and behind all the time. Firewood is still selling, so we are still cutting, splitting, and hauling. Money is good but my back doesn't like it.

I am picking one spot each day outside to work on to get cleaned up, repaired, etc. Now if I can just keep William from piling stuff back where I have cleaned!

Weather forecast for next weekend is snow!! I know it probably won't happen but I am enjoying thinking about it.  Have a blessed one!

I Am A Mommy

This little chick hatched from a forgotten egg under the heat lamp after the 7 other chicks were moved. They were over a week old when we moved them and the several eggs left I forgot to get rid of or turn the lamp off. This little one hatched out and is too small and young to go with the others so I am being his mommy, talking to him, cuddling him, cleaning his poop butt, and making sure he stays warm in his box house with a heat lamp. Making sure he eats and drinks and gets lots of attention. I think I am in love.

Just Chatter

We have been so busy delivering wood, checking and cleaning other peoples chimney or stove pipes that we just got around to checking ours today. Found we need to replace a elbow and one section of pipe so no fire for us tonight. Hate using electric heat as I can just hear the meter buzzing. Tomorrow we will have it all put back together and cleaned. William is cutting wood tomorrow with a friend so I get to stay home and catch up. I have a couple more loads of laundry, lots of vacuuming, sweeping, and mopping to keep me busy for a bit. I also have the back porch to clean as a few hens have decided to roost on a porch railing. Once I get it clean I will be taking these hens to a chicken pen to stay. Most of  the chickens are in pens but there are some that free range. I don't mind as long as they leave my flowers and plants alone and don't leave poop where they have no business being. Once they break the rules its in the pen for them.

I was such a dumb bunny last night. Before I went to bed I went around changing the time on all the clocks in the house. William waited until I was finished to tell me I had moved them UP an hour instead of back. I still can't believe I did that as I have been waiting so long to turn back the clocks and get that extra hour of sleep each morning. I am glad he caught it last night instead of this morning.

Have a baby chick that hatched a week after all the others. The other 7 that hatched are outside in a small heated chicken house. This little one is here in the house under a heat lamp. I pick it up and talk to it but it is lonely. Hopefully it will grow fast and can go be with the other chicks soon. I sure hope we are done with baby chicks till spring.

 A friend called wanting us to take 2 Toulouse geese. William wants to of course but I have said no. We already have Lucy and Ricky the Canadian geese and 16 ducks. We are going to keep the geese and 4 ducks but selling the others so really don't need 2 more geese to feed or move.

With helping William with the wood business I have been slacking on good meals lately. Have better meals planned for this next week that hopefully will work out. Going to make some meals ahead so I just have to pop them in the oven at last minute and some crockpot meals planned. I feel better eating a good meal sitting down at the table but lately I have been fixing hotdogs, pizza, subs, for us to eat on the run. We were delivering wood around suppertime most days. This next week I have our wood deliveries scheduled before mealtime. Most customers work so its late evening before we can deliver. This week so far looks like we can do afternoon deliveries.

Still haven't found a buck for my girls yet. Am hoping to work that into my schedule this week. Have a friend I need to go talk to about borrowing her buck for a couple weeks.

The craft fair this past Saturday was a little slow but we did get lots of food donations for the church food pantry. The church feeds 148 families from the pantry so it was nice to be able to be a part of a great thing. Will be doing another craft fair the 16th that is also a food/blanket/coat donation for the homeless. Hope that one is as big a success in donations

The girls are planning our family Christmas weekend for the weekend after Thanksgiving. I am looking forward to it. We will be having it at Melody's this year. Hoping for snow but it may be just a bit early for that.

Have a book calling my name so will end this chatter, take my hot chocolate and book to bed. Have a blessed one!