batten down the hatches folks

we got some serious wind around here!!!

First it's so cold it freezes eggs, then it's warm in the 40-50's and windy!! And I'm talking some wind!!! And don't forget the rain. I'm not complaining, I don't have to lug water from the house, I can get it from the outside spicket! That is exciting for me. I know it's the little things!
Well this morning was wet and windy during chores, making another load of laundry of sopping wet clothes. Not fun to get blown all over the yard. My husband had to leave very early to finish up a job this morning, so the kiddos and I were on our own. Well after chores and in the house and dry I look out the window and notice our hay wagon was gone. GONE?! you say gone?! So upon further inspection and looking it's all the way in our neighbors driveway ditch!!!!!!!!!!!! What?
See look

 NO, not the driveway we share, but the other neighbors driveway. See it in the ditch next to the telephone pole? (the orange SMV sign is on it. see it?) Up a small hill of the driveways, in the cow pasture, or rather through the cow pasture, and clear across the field. I zoomed in so you could see it, because otherwise you couldn't see it with my camera. And with 40 degree weather and rain makes for some sloppy travel time too, see

That is what the hay wagon had to travel through to get across the field! So ya, when I say we get some wind, I'm talking wind!! I did call my neighbor and let him know that it was there, and I have no way to go get it at this time. He said when the weather calms down he'd go get it and bring it home. (No zoom on this pic and the hay wagon is out there, can you find it? Look for the telephone pole...)
I'm so glad I had the cows in this morning or this would have been a very different post for sure, not that I haven't chased cows in the wind and rain before...When it calms down we gotta fix the cow pasture too!
Stay dry and have a great day all!

you know it's cold when

Your hens lay frozen eggs!!!

Bahahahahaha

Sorry just a little dry sense of humor in the midst of the freezing temps!

Have a great day!

brutal

So not too long ago I said we were having a cold snap. Felt like a heat wave compared to today. Well this week all this week it's been 0 or below with a wind chill. Today, it's 0 with a not kidding -20 wind chill factor. I took a picture, that's inside the shed. Yup it's cold. Fingers freeze to the water pails as they are lugged out, milk splatters freeze to the side of the pail. I did milk this am and it was 3 degrees in the cow barn, nicer then the -5 outside. And you hear on the radio that this is going to continue for the next day and a half. Oh the joys! Florida looks even better today, or Hawaii! Sign me up! I'm ready!
If you drop something, like wood on your toe it's likely to just fall off, even in winter boots. You won't feel any pain until you take your boot off and find a bloody stump on your foot. Your legs will feel like shard of glass are cutting them open as the wind whirls around them, even with 2 layers on. Guess I needed to put my Carharts on... lungs will burn as you gasp for some air as the cold wind hits your face. Your nose, if it's running will have snot frozen to your face and your nostrils will freeze shut if you try to breath out of it. Your face burns as the wind hits what isn't covered and you try to bury the rest of your face inside your jacket, wishing you had your husbands Mad Bommer hat on, better yet had one of your own. And you pull the hat on your head down even lower on your head so you cover up more skin. Thankfully your leather clad mittens with a warm liner that are way too big for your hands because they are your husbands gloves are keeping you hands warm. Saving them from the biting cold as you lug water and throw hay and lug more fire wood to the house to keep it warm.
The horses have icicles of  frozen water on their whiskers from drinking the water you bring. They are hiding out in their barns close together, even with their blankets on. The cows are happily sleeping ad chewing their cud in their barn. The chickens don't want to come out of the coop. The sheep are even in their barn. Can't imagine with all their wool they are cold! I'd like to have that much wool on my whole body to be outside too! Too bad I din't have my son snap a picture of myself to show you how cute I look! bahahahaha
Yet you find yourself out there in this brutal cold feeding and tending the critters you love and care for 3 times a day to make sure they are as happy as possible in this weather. Then you come in the warm house crank up the fire place by opening the damper, and sit shivering on your frozen butt, literally, and tell all your blogger friend about how cold it is out there!!
Have a great day all!!

good quote

"The ultimate measure of a man is not where he stands in moments of comfort and convenience, but where he stands at times of challenge and controversy."
Martin Luther King Jr.

"Change does not roll in on wheels of inevitability, but comes through continuous struggle. And so we must straighten our backs and work for our freedom. A man can't ride you unless your back is bent."
Martin Luther King Jr.

"Nothing in the world is more dangerous then sincere ignorance and conscientious stupidity."
Martin Luther King Jr.

"A nation or civilization that continues to produce soft minded men purchases it's own spiritual death on the installment plan."
Martin Luther King Jr.

"Our lives begin to end the day we become silent about the things that matter."
Martin Luther King Jr.

"In the End, we will not remember the words of our enemies, but the silence of our friends."
Martin Luther King Jr.

I could keep going with more of his wonderful quotes, but I won't. For today. I'm sure more will come on my good quote posts, you can be sure of it!

Have a great Monday all and Happy Birthday Martin Luther King Jr!

busy week

So I've been busy this week. And it's only Wednesday!
The other day I was helping out a friend. And it was fun!
We had a day of 50 degree weather, so I took advantage of it and cleaned out the horse barn. I keep up with it, but there are days when it freezes in and I can't get it out. So I got it all out the other day. I do believe it's all ready to be cleaned again. We sure do get lots of manure around here! But I've learned to love it!! haha
I was going to post pics of the wonderful Chinese food I made the other night, but the picture plague that is now running rampant on blogger, I think I'll refrain. I'm gonna have to rethink think this picture thing. I want to post pics but with the limited amount that is allowed I'm gonna be more picky I guess. I will post pics from time to time, but maybe not as many per post.
 I did make egg rolls, they are my sisters recipe and they are amazing!!! I made crab rangoons, my favorite thing!! I made some baked and some I fried to see what one I liked better. They were easy to stuff and have seal. I used a tablespoon, like the recipe called for, but when they cooked they puffed up and they were not as full. But they were good. I liked the fried ones better. Surprise, surprise! I think I'd have to bake them longer to get them crispier, or paint some butter on them. I made sweet and sour chicken! Love! And fried rice! yum!! It was a hit with the family, so I'll be doing it all again, maybe next month!
It's snowing out today!! The kiddos are glad to have some more snow to play in since all the other snow melted. Not that it's going to amount to much...just enough to make a mess of everything.
Last week with all the warmer weather made me want to tap trees. It was sooooooo tempting to, but we knew that the colder weather was coming back and the sap wouldn't run, so we waited, and will wait until it warms back up again! Then I can tell you all about it, again! I just hope that this year is better then last year, and the sap runs longer!
So the rest of my week is filled up as well with life. It's amazing to look back at the calender and see everything that happened and how busy we were. Yes I'm one of those people who writes everything on the calender so it gets done! If not I'd miss Dr appointments, suppers, parties, birthdays, and, and, and...the list goes on!  SO what about you guys do you have daily planners, or write on your calenders, or do you have the most amazing memories that you don't need to write it down?!
Have a great day all!

whats cooking in my kitchen

Because it's Monday. Because the sun finally came out. Because the snow is all but gone due to fog, rain and warmer temps. Because I want to make ya'll drool.

It's an Oreo Trifle.
I made it for our family get together with my husbands family. It were good too! I found the recipe on Pintrest, it looked good so I made it!

Here is the recipe if ya want to make it yerself!

Oreo Trifle
1 bag Oreos
Crush them up and set aside.

1 8oz pkg soft cream cheese
1 C powdered sugar
1/4 C butter
1/2 t vanilla
Beat all the together.

3 C milk
2 pkg vanilla pudding (the small box) or I think white choc, or cheese cake would be good too.
Mix and put in fridge.

12oz Cool whip (I used whipped cream and beat it lots, less sweet them Cool whip)

Now mix the cream cheese mixture, pudding, together. Fold in whipped cream.
Layer the crushed Oreos on the bottom and them slop on some of the cream cheese mixture. Repeat until the dish is full and it's all gone!
Keep in the fridge if there is any left.
I thought it was very rich, and would probably leave out the butter, and add more Oreos. But that is just me!
Have a great day all!

good quote

"Opportunity is missed by most people because it is dressed in overalls and looks like work."
Thomas Edison

"Far and away the best prize that life has to offer is the chance to work hard at work worth doing."
Theodore Roosevelt

monday confessions

So here we are...another Monday. Belch.
Back to school Monday from a much longer vacation then I planned. But with colds, ear aches, Dr. appointments, and a cousins birthday we are finally back on track. Well at least for today. When the regular routine gets off whack for whatever reason I feel displaced. Not that I'm a set in stone planner, because I'm so not that kind of gal, just ask my husband, I just need something of a routine. So much work to get done and school takes up a large amount of my day. SO I feel better now that we have things back going again.
It's still rather cold here too. Not as bad but chilly.
Still lugging water. I'll be so glad when we are set up to have water IN the barn and I no longer have to lug it all winter long. I mean stop and think, we lug about 100 gallons of water a day. Yup you read that right. Animals drink a lot of water, but not as much in the winter verses the summer. Thankfully we have hoses for the summer time watering!
I finally sat down and made a menu for two weeks! Now I have to go shopping for the things I need...fantastic! I decided to have homemade Chinese food one night too! Oh I can't wait. I love Chinese food! Yummmmmmm!!!
 I've found some yummilishous looking recipes on Pinterest!! Like the other night we had cheeseburger wraps! Yummy! Tasted just like a cheeseburger. Imagine!
We've got lots of snowmobilers that go by now. Apparently there is enough snow for the trails to be opened. I didn't think we had that much snow, but we do. They are usually really good about the driveway with the kiddos and the critters. We've spoken to folks who are not, and they get the picture real quick about slowing down!
We have new neighbors. The folks who bought the house rented it out. I've only met the guy who lives there, he came down to the house and introduced himself to us, and said they would be careful of the kiddos and the critters. I was pleased to hear that. He has a girlfriend, but I've yet to meet her. I've seen her though. I've thought about making a pie for them and saying welcome. What do you think?! Would you make a new neighbor a pie?  If I can catch them at home...

Well I gotta run the kiddos are hungry and we need to do afternoon chores and finish up with school!
I hope ya'll had a great weekend!
Happy Monday!!

dark days challenge

SO here is another dark days challenge. I missed last week, and almost this week. I've been cooking with local stuff and all that, I just don't remember the pics!!! My husband always looks at me like I'm crazy whenever I get the camera to snap a pic of the food on my plate, or the table or wherever it happens to be strategically placed for it's photo shoot! I'm always surprised how many photos of food I take and again my husband asks what I'm doing. I just smile at him and say for the blog of course!! DO you find lots of pics on your camera of your food?! I do. Hence the rambling of this post.
So what did I make that was wonderful? Well it all depends on how you look at wonderful. I call it Hash. Breakfast for supper. What is it??
Home fries from local potato folks, bacon and or sausage from our pig, eggs from our chickens. All cooked up and throw one pan and served to my hungry family. The only seasoning I use is bacon fat to fry the potatoes, eggs and sausage in and some salt and pepper. SO you know it's all very healthy and good for you...
Here tis

Pardon me it's not the best food pic I've ever seen, but there it is. I usually cook everything separate, but in the same pan, then throw it in one and it's gone in no time!
There is another local meal on our table!!
Have a great day all!!

cold snap

So there you have it. The title says it all. We are in the middle of a very cold cold snap. In the single digits with a wind chill that takes it below 0. Oh it's cold out there. The chores we rush around trying to get it all done as fast as we can. The critters stand in the barn for the most part. When there is not much wind it's not as bad, but burrrrrrrrrrr. Carharts, Mad Bommer hats mittens or gloves, frozen to the bone cold!!! Oh I love winter...not. I'll be glad when this cold snap moves on. It can't last forever...
The kiddos want to go play out in the snow, but it's so old they don't like to stay out for very long. Makes it hard for them, and they get cabin fever!
I don't mind the snow now that we have it. Bring it on. I don't want another open winter and no maple syrup in the spring. I'm hopeful for a good run this spring. I'll let you know when the time comes how things are looking up here in the Northern part of the country!!
The kiddos are getting better. What a strange cold they had. I won't go into detail, but I'm glad it's leaving us.  Just in time for school to start back up next week.
We've started the 2 year or so process of braces for our son. He's sorta excited about it. So that's good. So by the end of it I should be a pro at what to do and not to do. haha
I'm stuck in a rut when it comes to cooking. I need to get back into it. I need to make another menu, that works really well for me. I just need to take some time and look through the cook books and plan some meals. I'm not set in stone and say on Monday we have to have the first thing I wrote on the menu, I just look and see what looks good that day and go with it. I'm not that fussy about it. I just like to know I can cook whatever I have on the menu because I have all the ingredients for it! But sometimes I fly by the seat of my pants and make something totally different. I like to change things up sometime!! I like a two week menu. That way I have more to pick from. How do you guys plan meals? I'd love to hear what you do or not do!
I will be stopping by your blogs soon. I've been busy with the after Christmas cleaning and the computer is giving me fits, so I haven't had time to read them. I miss reading what you are up to and look forward to stopping by soon!
Have a great day all! Stay warm!!

2013

HAPPY NEW YEAR EVERYONE!!!!
Wishing you all a wonderful new year and many blessings from our farm to yours!!
 May your crops be abundant, your cows be fertile, and your lives be over flowing with love and blessings!