I've Been Lazy

NOOOOO!

LOL

Ok, Yes.

I realize today is the LAST day

of the month.

Usually you start the

"next new thing"

on the FIRST day of a month.

But I woke up today

and knew 

TODAY was the day.

So after getting all the animals

fed and delivering my eggs

next door (thank you Kyle),

a good breakfast of chocolate cake

(Yup, chocolate cake, YUM)

and a kefir smoothie,

doing all the banking,

bill paying,

organizing for next month,

emailing my students,

and a nice Thursday phone call

from Soni....

I changed into my workout clothes

and took my new laptop

out to the patio

(where it's nice and cool and I 

don't feel like I'm going to catch

my hands in the ceiling fan)

and dialed up my T-Tapp

Digital Workout page.

32 minutes and a 

Basic Super Slow

later,

I feel GREAT!

I can feel it, especially in my neck.

My neck has gotten really stiff,

so I did some good stretches.

(And then I took some turmeric and

rubbed some magnesium and aloe into it.)

It feels GOOD to make your body work.

And now I'm going to go clean my kitchen

and look for something yummy to cook

my family for dinner tonight.

Last night we had 

"Zippy Zucchini Bake".

It was delicious!

(Except the rice was a little crunchy...)

I might try

Hubby Lovin' Chicken

tonight.

I've heard good things about it from others...

We'll see.

Happy Thursday all!

Welcome to the Farm

Tis the Season.

And you can tell,

because I have put up the annual

gate decorations.

Our cowboy and cowgirl are all 

spiffed up for the season.

(alter egos?)

We usually have a solar light

stuck in each end of the gate.

But they recently died.

And Rod wasn't happy with them.

They aren't still lit when he leaves

for work at 5:30 in the morning.

So this year I am trying something

different and wrapped a strand

of clear lights all around the top bar.

We will leave them up all year.

(I bought a couple extra boxes

in case they only last a few months.)

I like the look!

And it's NICE to come home

at night to a welcoming light.

(Now I just have to remember to

pick up a timer - cuz it's NOT nice

to have to walk out there every morning

and evening and turn them on/off.)

Merry Christmas!

Change in Plans

I went to WalMart this morning

and bought the new garland

and red bows for the front gate.

I was going to put them up 

after eating some lunch and

then take pictures for my blog.

But while I was eating lunch,

the skies opened up

and it POURED.

(0% chance of rain today.)

(Yeah, right.)

So scrap THAT idea.

But when I went outside earlier

(before the rain)

this is what I saw...

She does this every day.

Hops up to the roof of the coop.

See?

She wanders around up there for a little while.

And then she flies down into the yard.

And she's free.

Little stinker!!!!!

Luckily she generally heads straight

into the hay room in the barn

and lays her egg.

And then it's out to the pastures

to look for bugs

for her afternoon snack.

(She has 3 or 4 sisters who do

the same thing... monkey see,

monkey do.)

New Friends

This morning early, Kyle and his

friend, Jessica, went for a kayak run.

They found a friend.

He got a little closer than he should have.

He actually touched it on the

back with his paddle!!!!

Yikes!

(Yup, he is nuts.)

Their other new friend was a much

better size / species.

The weather was perfect.

Sunny, not too hot or too chilly.

Thankfully, they left both of their

new friends at Turkey Creek where they found them.

Good choice.

Happy Birthday To Me!

Yesterday was a nice, quiet Thanksgiving.

I FINALLY messed up dinner.

Not that I'm a great cook or anything,

but it has always managed to turn out.

I got started on the turkey at 10:00,

planning to cook for 3 hours and

serve around 2:00.

However, I did the time planning

with a turkey bag in mind.

I forgot that I quit using them.

And they cut the cooking time WAY back.

So it was going to take 4 hours

in the oven instead of just 3.

But that's ok.

I got it all ready and put it in the

turkey roasting pan,

tented it with heavy foil

and set the timer for an hour.

Turned off the timer,

pulled the foil off,

and put it back in the oven.

Came back in an hour to check

on it and discovered that I didn't

turn the timer off.

I turned the OVEN off!!!!!

Sigh.

So now it's going to be FIVE hours.

I kept texting Jim.

It's going to be 3:00.

Nope, 4:00.

Nope, 5:00.

We finally were ready at 6.

LOL

But it was moist and delicious.

And the sides were good too.

Especially Rod's mashed potatoes.

I ended up not calling Mom for gravy

instructions, since the turkey came with 

a turkey pack in it - all I needed to do was

add drippings and simmer for a bit.

It was a little salty, but pretty good.

*************************************

This morning dawned cold and overcast.

I went out, dragged the trash cans

to the street,

fed all the animals,

took the turkey carcass out to the chickens

to clean off,

came in and made myself a turkey

sandwich on Rhodes dough rolls

with a side of Pop's fruit salad

and a pecan tart for desert.

It's my birthday.

I can have that for brunch if I want.

And then, since it was a yucky looking

day outside, and Black Friday to boot

(NOT leaving my house for love or money)

I curled up on the couch with my afghan

and a good book.

It was a great,

quiet,

relaxing,

refreshing,

wonderful

birthday.

(And then I hopped in my car

and headed south to teach school.)

When I got to my hotel,

I climbed into bed with my

Chick Fil A sandwich,

turned on the TV 

and found.....

YEA!

A great end to a nice birthday.

If I have to be away from my family
on my birthday...
this will do.

And Then There Were 2!

Linda went out this morning

to check on her cows.

And was greeted with another new

little bull calf!

Calf #2 is another beautiful little black angus.

She only wants to keep heifers, 

so Kyle is probably going to buy

both of them from her.

HAPPY THANKSGIVING!

It's A BOY!

Our friends have been on baby watch

for a week or so now...

and yesterday Kyle was lucky enough

to glance over just as the first cow

decided to give birth.

He has some cute pictures of it when

it was only seconds and then minutes old.

But I went over today to bring him

some lunch and see the new baby.

Mama and baby were enjoying a little

rest in the shade.

He is less than 24 hours old in this picture.

A little cutey!

He's just chillin'.

Wondering why it's so hot here.

And why there are flies.

All of the pasture mates find him fascinating.

But he is more interested in the big

world there is out there.

And now all eyes are on

"Big Mama".

Kyle was sure she was going to calve

just as soon as I left the property.

But I haven't heard anything from him,

so I'm guessing there's no news.

Rain Rain GO AWAY!

We were very blessed to have a couple

of really really nice days.

Friday and Monday were both beautiful

"fall" days.  (Florida's version anyway)

And now the rain is back.

It is POURING.

It was nice until about 10.

Long enough for me to take out

the trash to the street,

feed the animals,

and sit out back and read my book

for about 30 minutes while they ate.

But now I'm huddled under my blanket

listening / watching the rain coming

down in sheets and sheets.

I have the back patio doors open to

let in some fresh air,

but had to close the front door

since the cross breeze was freezing me out.

It's 69.

Could snow at any moment.

LOL

Tuesday is my cleaning day.

I am running the dishwasher.

Ta Da.

LOL

(Actually, I also dusted, did the floors,

and I'm getting ready to go clean the bathroom.

Ick.)

But I'm also going to do some cooking.

Tonight for the 

"Meeting formally known as homemaking"

we are having Pies and Speed Dating.

You get a slice of pie,

pick a seat on one side of the banquet table

and then after 3 minutes the folks on the other

side of the table slide down one spot.

It's a fun opportunity to visit with and

get to know some of the other sisters in the ward.

I'm going to make a sugar free, no bake

pumpkin cheesecake.

I'm softening the cheesecake as we speak.

Also thawing a pack of our beef stew meat.

I'm going to try a new stew recipe.

I'm not a big stew fan, but Rod likes it.

And it's a hot stew sort of day.

I'll let you know tomorrow how it turns out.

They are closed next door on Thursday 

since it's Thanksgiving,

so I'll also be washing my eggs today to take over.

If it ever stops raining.

Otherwise, I have a good book,

the Piano Guys on Pandora,

and a comfy afghan

 I knit for myself a couple of years ago.

(My puppy chewed a hole in it - I guess I could

also try to fix that....)

Aaaaaaaah.

Retirement.

Dodged A Bullet...

It seems like my phones only die

(but OFTEN die)

when I'm out of town.

Last night my phone battery was dead.

As I was leaving town (from teaching)

I plugged it into my new car,

but it just said to charge more before

trying to turn it on.

I knew Rod would be worried

about not hearing from me.

I drove to the first Service Plaza,

stopped in and found a wall outlet to

plug my phone in long enough to 

call him and let him know I was ok

and on my way home.

But my phone didn't respond.

So I got back on the highway and went

to the Wendy's where I get off one highway

and get on another.

It still wouldn't work when I plugged it in.

But the lovely lady behind the counter

let me borrow her's to call Rod.

And then I headed the rest of the way home.

Plugged in my phone and hoped for the best.

And dreamed all night about my dead phone.

Nightmares about losing my contacts.

I have phone numbers for all sorts of people

that I only talk to once a year or so,

and I have no idea how I would ever find them again.

Guess I should figure out a way to back

my contacts up, eh?

LOL

Anyhow.

This morning I got up,

fed the animals,

ate a pear for breakfast,

and headed in to town to the Sprint store.

He took the case off.

Pulled the battery out.

Put the battery back in.

Turned my phone on.

I didn't know you could do that!!!

(My last phone had one of those batteries

you couldn't take out, so I forgot it was an option!)

I was SOOO happy

that I went next door to Steak and Shake

for my favorite steak burger to celebrate.

(Early lunch... I slept in... lol)

And then, since Bed, Bath and Beyond

is also in the same parking lot,

I decided to go in.

I haven't been to one since I went in Tucson!

I have been meaning to go in,

because I wanted to buy a bunch of those

plastic "paper plates" like Nancy bought.

Of course,

they are summer things, so I was positive

they wouldn't have them anymore.

But it's always fun to look.

They didn't have the 6" spring form pan 

I wanted.

(I want to make a cheese cake in my pressure cooker.)

They didn't have a pressure cooker

so I could measure to see if a 9" one would fit.

(But I went on to my online group and found out

that it needs a 6" one...)

But as I was walking out, I found a tiny little

corner for backyard picnic / BBQ stuff

and there they were!!!!!

I bought six on them!

I can't wait to use them!

Thanksgiving dinner here we come!

LOL

However, I would like to know who

thought it was a good idea to put

a super sticky sticker in the middle

of the plate.

I've been sitting here on my couch for 30

minutes already, watching a Hallmark

Christmas movie, picking off stickers,

trying not to ruin my fingernails,

and I only have 3 done.

Sheesh.

But at least my phone works!!!!

Sick Day

Rod took a sick day yesterday.

He went to work, but about an hour

into his day, he broke out in a 

major rash on the inside of 

both arms!

Raised, red, angry welts that were

pretty itchy.

Freaked the other guys out,

so they sent him home.

They started popping up on his

sides and back as well,

so off to the pharmacy we went

to pick up some Benedryl.

(I have lots of voo doo stuff in

my cabinets, but I never keep 

that sort of thing.

It goes bad LONG before we 

need it again...)

He took some, then we went

into town and stopped at the

shoe repair store that has been

there for a billion years.

I took my riding boots in to be

re-soled in 1982!

He has a pair of nice black leather

cowboy boots that he likes to wear

to church with his suit.

They look nice and are really comfy.

But he has worn holes in both the soles.

We were happy to see the little

hole in the wall store was still

there and run by the next (or even 

the next next generation).

They said this was their busy season

so it would probably take 2 weeks,

but it was only $50 to put new heels

and leather soles on!

Pretty decent!

And next door is another little old

hole in the wall from back in the day.

A little breakfast / lunch diner

called Ethel and Fred's, but 

everyone has always called it

Fred & Ethel's.

LOL

They were FAMOUS for their

peanut butter pie

back in the 80's when I worked

in that neck of the woods.

We stopped in for an omelet and some

of the best cooked crispy bacon

Rod has ever had at a restaurant.

FINALLY somebody got it right!

*grin

And then we were off again.

Stopped at the cheap (inexpensive)

gas station and put in my

FIRST TANK OF GAS.

Bought the car 2 weeks ago!

And then to the dealership to see Jim,

get the car washed and detailed

and get some instructions on some of

the fancy features that I'm SURE

he showed me, but I can't remember...

But he was busy selling a car.

Still got the car detailed though,

and got to wave and smile at him...

Then it was back home to cut and weed

a bunch of decals for a client,

I made a pan of Rod's favorite

German Pancake for his breakfast

for the next week 

and had a couple of ripe bananas

that I made into a pan of

"Bust a Myth" banana cake for 

us to eat as snacks.

I'm going to take a couple of slices

this weekend for my mid morning

and mid afternoon snacks.

Made a yummy meatloaf with some

of our ground beef.
It's a SUPER easy and delicious

recipe.

2 # ground beef

1.5 C favorite salsa

.5 C sour cream

.5 C greek yogurt

2 T taco seasoning

2 large eggs

.5 C cracker crumbs (I use oatmeal)

Bake at 350 for 45 min to an hour.

I used my 8x8 pyrex pan,

my toaster oven,

and put a little grated cheese on top

just for fun.

It was done and ready to eat in 45 min.

It was a yummy dinner for a cold

(68), blustery, cloudy, misty sort of day.

It really FELT like winter.

Today, however, we woke up

to beautiful blue skies.

Chilly, but with the sun shining,

you don't even notice!

Scott finished fixing Jim's 4 wheeler

that he keeps in our barn.

We use it for dragging the pastures

and he sometimes comes and gets it

and a truck and goes out riding with buddies.

The rats ate some of the wires.

Grrrrrrrr

But Scott got it all fixed and running again.

Thanks Scott!!!!

I put the dogs in the garage

so they wouldn't disturb him,

and was sitting here on the couch drinking

my breakfast drink and thinking it 

was probably time to let them out,

when I heard a bunch of little kid

voices.  Like recess or PE at the local

elementary school.

Except we don't have a local elementary school.

And then I remembered Brock saying

he was hosting 60 little kids

for a school field trip this morning.

(And 55 more on Monday)

Glad it was a beautiful day for it!

They brought 2 buses full!

The kids seemed to be having a good time,
checking out the donkey and goats...

 

Meanwhile my cows and horses were
having a good time checking them out too.

(By the time I got my camera out, they were
heading on to the next thing...)

Sounds like they are having a good time
over there.
I'll bet Brock is ready for a nap!

I'm doing laundry and getting my
rosters all printed up for another
big class this weekend.
Heading to West Palm.

Have a wonderful, safe and happy weekend.

Good Friends

Years and years ago,

Rod started to investigate the church.

We were helped along the way by our

good friends, parents of the Jim's best friend,

Carol and Dayl Seigfried.

Dayl was our Bishop at the time,

but more than that, he and Rod had 

already become pretty good friends.

And Carol and I were good friends.

She is one of those people who never

met a stranger...

Over the years we became closer and closer.
We even weathered a major hurricane together!
(A favorite memory...)

And then we started looking at possible land

purchases in Arizona.

But instead of Rod and I buying land and

moving out there, Carol and Dayl did instead!

They bought property, moved to Snowflake

and built a BEAUTIFUL home.

We remained close friends though.

Kyle and I stayed in their home when we 

made the trek out to see if he could live

on our property by himself.

He couldn't.

They moved again,

this time to the COLD north,

Michigan!

BRRRRRRRRR

They stayed in our home when Carol's father

passed away and their entire family came out.

Her mother still lives in our ward and they

come out each year to visit and we always

get together a time or two while they are here.

It was time for their annual visit this week!

Carol took a picture of Rod and Dayl, but it 

didn't turn out. Fuzzy. Rod was making a face

and she was trying to hurry and catch it.

Darn.

The 4 of us went to our favorite Mexican haunt

and had some of our favorite Mexican food

with some of our favorite people.

It was a great evening of visiting and telling

stories and catching up and re-connecting.

But we are all old now,

so we had to call it a night about 9.

LOL

Then last night we had a chance to get together

again with the "old gang" from our old ward

where he was the Bishop.

Up front is our good friend and the boys' mentor

Mike Taylor, otherwise known as BT.  (Bro Taylor)

Then to the left is Jordan, Jessica's older brother.

Then Ruth Ann and Keith Arbuckle.

Keith was our Bishop at one time in the other

ward, now he is the Stake Exec Secty and he and

Rod work closely together on Stake stuff.

Hiding behind them are Peggy and Richard Rasmussen,

hosts, parents of Jordan and Jessica, GOOD old friends,

Richard went to my school many years ago,

he is now 2nd Counselor in our Stake and he 

and Rod have gotten really close.

Then there's me.

And Kyle.

Then Carol and Dayl.

And putting a piece of chicken in her mouth

is Jessica Rasmussen.

Recently returned from the Calgary mission

and becoming a good friend.
(The young lady you guys saw in Okotoks!)

And then an exchange student from Mexico.

SUPER shy and I never did get her name.

It was a wonderful evening!

Jim showed up in time for pictures,

and Kyle conveniently ducked out.  

lol

There isn't a guy in this group who doesn't

know how to have a good time!

(Rod, Dayl, Richard, Keith and BT as

the lap dog...)

The women weren't NEARLY as goofy.

Ruth Ann, me, Dayl, Peggy, Jessica, Carol.

Dayl looks a little shell shocked.

He wanted off the couch - "I'm not one of the girls!"

But we wanted our picture with him.

So he stayed.

He has played an important role in each

and every life on that couch.

Before they moved, the whole Seigfried family came over and
helped us paint and repair our new
farm house before we could move in.
And then each of the men (from the
pictures above) came on New Years Day
and spent the ENTIRE day
(and Dayl stayed until well after dark)
putting a new roof on.
What terrific friends!

It's easy to see why we moved to our farm house

but continued to attend that ward until we were

finally "formally invited" to attend our correct ward.

These are the warmest, most wonderful

folks you'll ever want to meet.

(Not that our ward isn't great, but they are

a different kind of fun. 

And the demographics

are different.

Newly Weds and Nearly Deads 

as Grandma used to say... LOL)

Anyhow.

It was a fabulous evening.

One I'll cherish for a long long time.

Instant(ish) Gratification

I love instant gratification.

Who doesn't???

I think that's why I used to like vacuuming.

But since there is ZERO carpet in this house,

today I decided to try my hand at mowing.

I actually tried to mow the yard yesterday

but Kyle had taken our big riding mower

over to Brock's to mow the little corral,

which meant the deck was still super high and all

I was doing was giving the grass

a good blow dry.

I gave up.

This morning I had Kyle give me a

refresher on how to change the 

deck height, and then I was set to go.

About 11:30 I went out to mow.

And forgot how to start it.

(there are like 40 steps and you have

to do them in the right order and 

NONE of them are in a logical order.

I skipped one.

Sheesh)

A quick phone call to Kyle got that straightened out.

(I miss being able to phone Rod at work!)

And then.

Ta Da.

I mowed the yard!

The middle yard,

the sides of the driveway

and even the front yard!
Kyle took his tractor, trailer and truck
to work with him today,
so it was the perfect opportunity to
"do it all!"

It doesn't look "Rod mowed".

Or "Kyle mowed".

But it looks better than

"horse mowed".

LOL

(Obviously this is not today,

since I'm here by myself and have not yet

hired a paparazzi to follow me around

with a camera...)

Also it's only 78 degrees, so I'm wearing jeans.

But hey!

It only took me an hour!

Instant (ish) gratification!!!! 

(however, mowing grass in the winter isn't
nearly as satisfying as mowing in the summer.
There are very few parts of the grass that
grow enough during the winter so you can
actually SEE your progress as you go...
But the over all effect is rewarding.)

I might even do it again....

Cows 3 Humans 0

Ack!

Cows.

Geez.

I'm so glad we only have 2.

When it's time for them to 

make the trailer trip down to Vero,

we put the trailer in the gate and

feed them in there for a month.

On the big day they just hop in.

However.

Brock has 9.

So that's not really an option.

Our plan on Monday was to

try again (third try is the charm, right?)

to get 2 cows in the trailer.

Without getting hurt.

That shouldn't be such a big deal.

Whatever.

Try #1 resulted in 3 cows in the 

little corral that leads to the loading chute.

We got the big metal gate closed
and Kyle tied it shut with his belt.
(Just realized the gate doesn't lock anymore
now that we raised it up to get it out
of the grass...)

They were milling around,
trying to avoid heading down the chutes.

At the last minute,
Ham, (aka Petunia) JUMPED over
the fence to the right.

These are the two main naughty girls.
Ham is on the left, Big Mama is on the right.

After Ham jumped out,
Big Mama - a BIG girl, jumped out as well.

They ended up out in the woods next
to the big pasture.
Wandered down the path next to the fence
and then into the woods you see behind them.

GRRRRRRR
Kyle jumped the fence and tried to
round them up.
I went down the path to turn them back
towards our gate in case they decided to try
heading out into the woods.

However, the property over there
was cleared a couple of months ago
and now it's WAAY overgrown, but instead
of coming back in grass etc,
it came back in blackberry bushes.
In other words... thorns.
(It's also still pretty flooded...)

So he hopped back over the fence and
we sat down to talk about what to do.

We put some more feed in the corral
and the rest of the herd slowly made
their way over there.
Which made the escapees jealous
and they eventually wandered over
themselves.

Locked the gate behind them and
decided to give up for the day.

On our way out of the property,
we ran into Brock.
We sat and chatted with him and tried
to come up with alternative plans.
Kyle HATES to give up!

Next thing I knew, we were back there
again, beefing up the fences.

This is the fence they jumped over.
AFTER we added a higher top board.
It's not beautiful,
but effective.

Beefed the other walls as well so they were tall
enough the girls wouldn't try to jump out.

So their only choice (hopefully)
was to head down the chute.

And hopefully into the trailer.
(There's a metal chute with a head catch
at the end, but it's open right now,
so you can't really see it.)

The other problem we have is that
while the left door to the trailer is
open, the head gate holds it open.
But the right door can't be open because
it's too wide and they will just get out.
But that leaves a big hole they just
get out of anyway.

We tried putting up a metal corral panel,
but they are big girls and they just
push through.

So this time we put up some boards.

Extending the chute all the way to the trailer.
(Originally there were just two boards...)

Try #2.

After much food and coaxing and wishing
and hoping and trying to keep our
energy levels low,
we FINALLY got three cows in the corral.
The big mama, a small steer with horns,
and the bull, Jogger.
(He's really sweet, but BIG...)

This time we had ropes to tie the gate
closed with.
And another rope to tie the 2nd
gate we use to squeeze them into the chute with.

It was a LOT of work to get them down the chute.
Big Mama was first and she was NOT
going forward towards the trail.
NOT.

We called Brock, but he didn't answer.
When I looked down the pasture,
he was walking out to help.
Phew!
This really is a three person job.

Just as he was getting close,
Big Mama decided she had had enough.
Down the chute she went,
up to our trailer,
and then ducked out through the boards!!!!!!

DARN THAT COW!
Naturally the little steer was
right behind her.

I have to be honest.
I was done.

But Kyle and Brock were now
more determined than ever.

So we beefed up the boards on the side,
adding the third board and a bunch
more screws.

And then is was on to try #3.

We just all stood around talking and
laughing and ignoring the cows
and eventually (it wasn't hot and there
was a lovely breeze blowing)
Big Mama and the little steer went in again.
(They seem to either be bravest, or they
like the corn / hay the most... lol)

They were in the corral.
Brock said he thought he could get there
and get the gate closed if he moved FAST.
And he DID!

And now it's on!
He got the gate tied closed,
Kyle and I got on opposite sides of the
chute (I was on the board side, he was
running the head catch).
I grabbed a big board and stuck it through
the chute boards behind Mama so
she wouldn't try to back out,
Kyle opened the head catch,
Mama started into the trailer.......

And then she changed her mind
and decided to leave.
Through my boards.
I was holding the butt board
with my left hand and yelling and
slapping the three boards with my right hand
and she looked me right in the eye
and went through anyway.

Broke the board and everything.
Brat.

But we still had the steer.

Was it worth it to make the run to Ocala
with just him?

Brock got on the phone with his butcher
to see how late he was going to be there.
(It was nearly 2:00 already and it's a 2.5 hour drive,
AFTER we hook the trailer to the truck
and get fuel...)

So.
The butcher was closed for the day.
Family Emergency.
Same as last Monday.
But he "forgot" to call Brock and let him know.

ARE YOU KIDDING ME????????

We were really frustrated.
But glad we didn't drive all the way up there
with a bunch of cows in the trailer
only to find out he was closed.

So........

The guys naturally have another plan.
They are SURE we can get them in next time.

I'm reserving judgement.

But if we do, I want STEAK.

Any of them will be fine.

One Month

Today marks one month since I retired.

I'm bored and ready to go back to work.

And I have some beachfront property

in Arizona I'd like to sell you.

LOL

I'm drinking my Yum Yum Bitty and 

getting ready to go next door with

Kyle for Round 3 with the cows.

Wish us luck!!!!!!!

Busy, Productive Morning

As usual, I've been busy this morning.

I woke up nice and early and decided

to indulge myself and watched a

Christmas movie on Hallmark

instead of getting up before the

break of dawn.  

(5:00)

Then it was time to get up

and feed all the animals

and get them going for the day.

Meanwhile Kyle left for work.

And then Scott got up and

worked on Jim's 4 wheeler for a bit.

Got it running,

but the darn rats chewed one wire

down so short that he doesn't know

if he'll be able to fix it.

Might have to get a new wire harness

just for that one silly wire.

Oh well.

While he was working on the patio,

I baked a big pan of Rod's favorite

German Pancake with pecans.

He loves it.

I cut it into individual servings and

he has one with a chocolate protein

drink for breakfast each morning.

While it was baking,

I whipped up a batch of sugar free

homemade ketchup,

which I then used to make a batch

of really delicious BBQ sauce.

While that was simmering on the stove,

I put a lovely Boston Butt roast I 

picked up next door into the pressure cooker

to get it thawed and started cooking.

Then it went into the slow cooker

with half a recipe of BBQ sauce.

That will cook on low for the rest of the day

and we'll have it for dinner and

leftovers for lunch for the next few days.

Now I'm researching a banana bread

recipe.  I have 3 overripe bananas

and I'm craving banana bread.

So I'll see what yummy sugar free / gluten free

recipes I can find.

I know there's one in the cookbook I use.

But it has an oat flour base and I'm

wondering if there's something else

that isn't quite so heavy.

We'll see.

But I just realized it's nearly 1:00 and
I haven't had breakfast yet.
LOL
Guess I'd best get on that!
(I guess you would call it brunch...)

Missed posting about yesterday...
I went to the doctor in the morning and got
a clean bill of health.
He said my numbers were "stellar".
YEA!

And then he uploaded a couple of new books
for me to read.
(We are book buddies from way back....)

Next it was off to the Hair Cuttery
to get my hair trimmed.
She did a nice job.
But butchered my bangs.
At least I'm not teaching this weekend.
By next weekend (thanks to collagen)
they will have grown out enough that I
will survive.
hahahaha

And then it was up the street to Walmart
to get some plain Kefir.
I put it on the counter for 24 hours to do
a double ferment and then use in a drink.
I also needed to find a clear water bottle
for Rod to take to work.
They are cracking down on what the guys
are allowed to drink out of and where / when
they can drink water.
It's kind of hard on him... but he is adapting.
And of course, I needed some more veggies.

Then it was across the street to pick up
my refill on my thyroid meds.
And home to make a nice big pan of
sausage and cabbage for lunch.

I'm thinking about making another batch now.
Or maybe a big pan of yellow squash,
sauted in butter with a couple of eggs
scrambled in.
That's pretty darn yummy too.

Decisions, decisions...  

The Fun Never Stops

It was another fun, busy day

here on the farm today.

This morning Kyle and I headed

next door to try to load some

cows into our horse trailer

to take to the butcher.

Again.

We got a little steer in there

pretty quickly without much fuss.

And then it was on.

Kyle tried and tried to get the

cows to come into the little

corral we were using.

But the goats kept getting in the way.

(He put the goats in the front

pasture yesterday, but they were

back there with the cows again today...)

Grrrrrr

FINALLY he got a big mama cow

to get into the little corral.

I slammed the gate closed behind her

and she headed down the squeeze chute.

But she got out the front hole

instead of getting in the trailer

because we weren't fast enough.

So we tried again.

And again.

And again.

And again.

He FINALLY got the same cow back

in the corral again.

And back into the squeeze chute.

And got the gate closed behind her.

(nearly broke his ankle in the process...)

But when I opened the trailer door

and headed her that way,

she just knocked down the panel to

her right and bolted anyway.

Kyle jumped over a SIX FOOT FENCE

to try to stop her,

but was a split second too late.

So we tried and tried and tried

some more.

But they weren't having it.

We got several of them HALF in,

but no dice.

(This would have gone MUCH more

smoothly if we had 3 people instead of

just 2, but something held Brock up

and he never arrived...)

After 3 hours, we finally gave up.

gathered up the truck and the tractor

and headed back out.

Turned around and darn if 

the cows weren't ALL in the 

stupid little corral.

Sigh.

Whatever.

Instead we went home and loaded the

feed barrels into his truck bed,

hit Chick Fil-A on the way out of town

and then headed north to get our feed

for the month.

So we accomplished SOMETHING.

And I got a nice little sunburn.

And neither of us got hurt.

So it was all good.

In other news...

Look what I found in Buddy's feed bucket.

I guess he is getting old.

That is what's left of one of his

back molars.

It is polished smooth on the chewing

surface and had no roots left.

So it just fell out of his mouth.

He IS nearly 30 years old.

He gets soaked alfalfa hay every morning.

*they all do.  They are all old.

Kind of a cool find though.