Labor Day Weekend

Labor is right.

Good news, Friday I had to call for my Jury Duty instructions and after an hour of calling, I got through and was told they didn't need me this week, Yay! I was also told I get to call again this Friday eve, hopefully not for a full hour again, and find out if they need me next week, B00!

Saturday

Saturday we had a triple birthday party to go to for 3 nieces ages 1, 3 and 7. So that morning found me in the garden, no named crocs covered in dew, alligator grass scratching my legs (yes the weeds have won), picking tomatoes, onions and peppers. I wanted to take salsa as my dish to pass.

Since I am queen of procrastination, after making the salsa, I started making the gifts.

They are a homeschooling family and I wanted to make book bags for the girls.

I put the letter of their first name on the front pocket.

The girls liked their bags, the salsa was a hit. One SIL said "It's so good, I cant stop eating it!" I had made a big batch and it was gone. Score one for garden veggies!

I just use tomatoes, onion, green peppers(seeded), one or two jalapenos (seeded)a splash of cider vinegar, a bit of salt, a bit more of sugar and some dried cilantro (I don't care for fresh). Grind in a food processor. I add some chopped tomatoes and onion for bigger chunks and that's it.

Sunday

Do you remember our logs from our work back in June?

On Sunday I split them all with the help of this handy dandy machine.

Then I had to take my son to my Dads since he is mowing Dads land while he's away, so while we were there...

...the girl and I picked apples.

They aren't pretty apples and I have to cut out the buggy parts, but they are free and organic.

Monday

"Any chicken news?"

"Why yes Little Mama there is."

Hubbie and I harvested our first chicken.

I just kept thinking how I want to feed my family healthy food. My hubbie did do most of the unpleasant business, he hunts so this isn't new to him. These chickens aren't pets, we got them just for this purpose. I think I did a better job than I thought I could.

The skin is so yellow. I plan on cooking it tonight.

I talked to my sister this morning and she was grossed out. She said she never could do that. Now keep in mind she isn't a vegetarian. I told her, I gave him food and care, he was allowed to roam our land pecking and scratching, chasing bugs and other chickens. Other than the last 30 seconds of its life, he had it pretty good. Can the factory chickens claim that?

I also told her that so many people are disconnected where their food comes from that they will eat chicken nuggets not caring how many chickens died for that pressed meat or how they were treated before that. She agreed.

Now I'm not saying what others should or shouldn't do for the food they eat, I have been blissfully downing food for years without concern for where it came from. This is what I am doing now and don't want to be made to feel bad about it.

Ok, so back to Monday

Hubbie moved tons of dirt. We sometimes get road run off into our pond so he has been building up the side to prevent that from happening.

The kids and I stacked the firewood.

It feels good to get a good start on lowering our heating costs this winter.

It's the kids first day back to school.

Now I'm off to the kitchen to tackle those apples.

New School

Both kids are moving up to new schools this year, the girl in Middle School, the Boy High School.

The only reason I am not sitting in a darkened room rocking in the fetal position is, they are so much fun at these ages. I truly enjoy spending time with them.

The girl is pet sitting this week so I dropped her off and the boy and I went to his new school.

The school is quite large and can be a bit intimidating so we wanted to find his locker and classrooms ahead of time.

No this isn't the mall.

It fits!

While we were in town, we ran into the grocery store to get a few things.

I told him I'd give him a buck if he pushed the little cart all the way through.

Like his mother, he'll do just about anything for cash.

We laughed so hard it was the best $1 I ever spent.

On the way out of the store is a picture of my moms class when she went to the one room schoolhouse in town.

There she is right in the middle.

We always say hi to Grandma on the way out.

We got home and a bit later the mail lady came up the drive with a package for me!

I had ordered a bundle of fat quarters from Anna Maria Horner.

http://store.annamariahorner.com/

I love her bright sunny fabrics.

The kids start school on the 2nd, I start jury duty that same day (lets hope for a short one), then I am starting my work schedule back up. I can't wait to cut into these beauties!

We have WATER!

Thanks for all the crossed fingers out there. Won't know if we will be in the poor house until we get the bill. :-)

I am caught up on dishes, working on laundry.

Busy day.

Taking a trip to the recycling center, 50 cent movie day, getting Middle School Schedule and then the Library.

Does this qualify as the most boring post ever?

My Threes

We still have no water. Hubbie checked everything inside to make sure it wasn't an easy fix, then he checked the pump. Well golly gee they make them so the average dude who is handy can't fix it himself. They have this special tool that reaches 4 feet down into the well to get it out, do they sell this special tool? Nope.

So we had to wait until today to get the guy out, he could have come out over the weekend for an extra fee, um yeah, no.

So we have been showering and getting water from my dads house. I am so thankful for our pond, a trip out there with 2 watering cans allows me to flush our potties.

I have been heating water on the stove for some dish washing but most of the dishes are dirty, on the counter and starting to consume the table. It's a pain, I decided I don't want to be a pioneer woman.

Theres more.

While Hubbie and I ran to town for some scratch grains and some manly stuff, our Honda had some problems. The thingamajig that holds the wheel straight popped out. The tire was leaning at an angle. Swell.

Luckily we had a friend we saw at Tractor Supply nearby, ran my hubbie to Murray's to get a couple of hose clamps, my manly man put a temporary fix on it and got us home. I was holding my breath over every bump and turn.

One more thing.

I broke the vacuum, luckily my manly man can fix that too. I married him for his looks, it's just lucky for me that he's handy too! ;-)

So that's my 3 right? Nothing more.

Since I have that annoying trait of looking at the positives, here goes.

I already mentioned the pond, I NEED TO FLUSH.

Since I cant wash dishes, do laundry or vacuum, I am cleaning the garage. It is so embarrassingly bad, THERE WILL BE NO BEFORE PHOTOS.

My MIL made stuffed cabbage, she knows how I love them and brought some over last evening so I don't have to make dinner tonight! So not only did this woman birth out a gorgeous son (hee hee) , she is thoughtful too. Ok, I am cracking myself up now.

The chickens are still amusing me. How many do you see?

Hamburg convinced another friend to fly up. See the 3rd up on the left? I did shoo them down and put them away. I don't want to make it easy for the predators to get them. It also keeps Hammy from crowing too early and annoying the neighbors.

So if you kind ladies would cross your fingers for us, we hope to have water by the end of the day, and not to be forced into the poor house with this.

Water water everywhere...

... but not a drop in my house.

Our well pump went out last evening, at least we hope it's just the pump. It went out before I did the dinner dishes, showered, filled the chickens water, pretty much everything.

Luckily we had camping jugs of water left over from the Staycation for hand washing and teeth brushing. I hoping hubbie can fix it today after work, if not, my dad is out of town and we are watching his cat, chickens and turkeys, so we can shower and refill jugs at his house. At least this is happening before school starts.

Here is the recipe for Lemon Bars I promised. I have been happy with many of the Land O Lakes recipes that are inside the box.

whoopsie, the pic isn't is clear as it was while I posted this.

Crust

1/3 c Land O Lakes butter, softened

1/3 c sugar

1 cup flour

Filling

3/4 c sugar

3 T all-purpose flour

1/2 t balomg powder

1/8 t salt

2 T lemon juice (I have a lot btw)

1 T lemon peel

2 eggs

powdered sugar

I'll shorten this since I don't feel like typing everything.

Oven 350, combine crust ingredients, beat medium speed till crumbly. Press in greased 8 or 9 inch square pan. Bake 15 mins or until edges are lightly brown.

Meanwhile, mix filling in same bowl, medium speed 1-2 minutes. Pour over hot crust. Continue baking 17-20 mins, top light brown. Sprinkle with Powdered sugar, cool cut.

Try to share with your family, easier said than done.

I picked up my sister in the little car and we went Garaging yesterday. Two days in a row, crazy!

Now plastic chairs do have a purpose in this world, light weight, easy to stack, but they end up looking ugly and they break easy. I found these two old beauties for $1 each. A little washing to get rid of the bird poop (free) , a little sanding and maybe a touch of paint and I'm in love.

Ignore the brown grass, maybe i should water it.

Speaking of sanding and paint, this was in a free pile. It spoke to me. My sister didn't think I'd be able to fit it in the little car. There is no law saying the trunk needs to be closed, right?

We have a roof over part of our back deck and envision it hanging there.

Now who needs a Chicken Piggy Bank? Not me, I have one, for just a quarter.

I found these binoculars in a beautiful case for $3.

Why do I need them?....

...for evening bird watching.

Hamburg has been attempting to roost in the trees.

Last evening we went and saw Iron Man at the Dollar Show and when we came home we discovered he convinced a friend it was a good idea.

Um yeah.

Hamburg is a small bird but how did the Dark Cornish get up there?

Hope you have a great weekend, I'm off to get some water.

Thrifty Thursday and more

I haven't hit many Garage sales this season, trying to keep more of my $ and less stuff from coming in the house. My sister and I got a hot tip about a sale not far from me that had great prices on clothes. We loaded up in her car and took off.

Yep, It was true.

We got 4 shirts, a pair of jeans and black orchestra shoes for the girl, a t-shirt for the boy, 2 wide mouth pint canning jars, a lambswool sweater that i may felt and use for projects, a fleece vest for my chilly morning bike rides,

2 shirts for me,

a brand spanking new pair of shoes.

This is them on the way to the mailbox.

And last but not least, another set of tacky lights for the Christmas Tree.

All for the grand total of $8.75. Woo hoo!

Speaking of thrifty, we have been eating leftovers from our staycation but last night we were down to one chicken thigh and one sausage. How do I make it stretch for a family of four?

Pizza of course. Tomato & Sausage and Chicken BBQ.

In other news...

I caught something new in the trap.

I forgot to release the trap from last night, I had to get my boy up and out early for High School Orientation. Yes I said High School, how did that happen? Any way...

He was actually quite calm about the whole thing.

When I went to the store last Friday they were all out of bottled lemon juice, today no lemon juice. Now I don't want to start a panic but the helpful man at the store said there was a bad lemon crop and they hadn't received lemon juice in over a month.

Ok, I need lemon juice for some jams, pies, that delish glaze on my blueberry coffee cake, tomato sauce for canning, not to mention lemon bars. What's a gal to do? I went to the frozen juice section, scrounged the bottom shelf, way in the back and found these overpriced boxed mini bottles. Did I want to spend $14 on 7 bottles of lemon juice today, no, but I don't know how long the shortage will be so i stocked up.

I'd like to introduce you to Whiffy the Skunk Dog.

Our pup has been camping all week in the tent with the kids. Last night he let himself out of the tent for a romp with a Skunk.

I have the anti skunk smelling gene (one of the few things I remember from Human Biology) and I passed it on to the kids, but we can smell him well enough and plan on bathing him later.

He is a very smart pup but I believe he does things like this to keep me humble.

Staycation

Our Staycation was fun, and cheap, my two favorite things.

This giant canvas tent was my Hubbies Uncles tent 50 years ago. He had given it to my Hubbies family (4 boys) forever ago. They used it in Scouts.

We inherited it when my Husbands parents split up and sold the house. Our kids love it and every few years we lug it out and they live in it for half the summer.

This thing is heavy and needs a minimum of 4 to set it up.

My girl put a table and chairs in the front screened room and packed a ton of games to pass the time.

The kids and I slept in here Friday Night.

We brought in the mini black & white tv (curbside treasure) and watched Michael Phelps win gold #7.

Told spooky stories.

Wore out the dog.

Saturday my mom and her hubbie showed up in their little camper.

They had bought it in rough shape, gutted it and turned it cute.

Mom and I put out quite a food spread while hubbie manned the grill on the fire pit.

My siblings with kids showed up for dessert, decided instead of camping that they would take advantage of the free babysitting and left. (They can be annoying that way)

The kids, 5 in all, camped in the Boyscout tent and stayed up late giggling and acting silly.

Hubbie and I stayed in old Scout and didn't hear a thing.

Sunday

My Mom insisted on bringing her bike and wanted to ride our route with me. Now for 65 she is pretty spry, but I warned her it is a tough route. She said "I can ride 5 miles". So I say "There are a lot of hills". She says "What hills?". So I say "Umm, the one right out of our drive way". So she replies "Thats not a hill?"

"Bring it old lady" I think to myself.

Well halfway up our non existent hill she is off her bike and pushing it, "It doesn't seem this big when you are in the car" she says. I tell her we can turn back anytime, all the while riding to the top and back down to meet her over and over.

We get to the top, I warn her that the way down is the King Of The World hill where you feel like you are flying but after 4 1/2 miles of riding, it is a bugger to get back up. She keeps insisting she is going the 5 miles even if it kills her.

Ok, my mother is probably the only person more stubborn than me, I will exert tons of effort and half kill myself before I admit defeat, so I guess that is where I get it from and have to admire her a bit, but on the other hand, I didn't want to kill off my mom and ruin our Staycation.

So many hills she had to walk up while I circled back and forth later, I tell her we are at the mile and a half point and we can turn around anytime. I warn her although the next mile is pretty flat, there is no shade and it gets quite hot. "I'm doing the 5 miles" she says.

So we ride past the house we used to live in before my parents divorce and she didn't even recognize it. She kept inquiring if berries growing along the way were edible. "No mother they are poisonous and we are not gathering berries out of my neighbors ditches".

So we hit the halfway mark and i warn her of the next hill. It is a paved section, cars fly past, it doesn't seem steep but the slope is a long one. "I'm going 5 miles" she says.

So we coast down before it turns up, she is riding her brakes the whole way. We then start the slope, she gets off and is walking up. I keep looping up then back behind her to warn her of the approaching cars because she keeps veering into the road. I get a ways ahead again, look over my shoulder and I see her bike parked on the side of the road but no mom.

She is on the opposite side of the road checking to see if that is bittersweet growing there. So I tell her "if you want to climb down into a ditch getting poison sumac on your legs, turning this usually 30 minute ride into a 3 hour ride, go ahead, but i am not helping".

She either gets my reasoning, realizes I am not going to help her or maybe it is my exasperated tone that gets her back to her bike and we finally make it up the hill.

Luckily my sisters house is just a bit away because mom is half dead by now. I ride ahead to get swim suits for the kids who are still at my house. Mom finally makes it there and asks my sister for a ride the rest of the way. YAY! She wants to know if I want to ride too and get my bike later. No way, its only 2 miles and it is a lovely 2 miles at that.

While my sister grabs her keys, I take off, kicking butt, trying to release my frustration but more than that wanting to show off a bit.

She and my sister work out at Curves or on an elliptical and I get criticism for not exercising. I tell them of all the heavy work i do and get the typical response "It isn't sustained work". Ok, tell me 2 straight hours, usually more of chicken coop cleaning, hauling wheelbarrows filled to the top with crap, across one end of our land to the other, or spitting and hauling fire wood, managing a large garden isn't a work out. Their response is that it isn't every day. I just shake my head, knowing there is no way they could do half of what i do and I let them keep their smugness.

So back to my story. By the time they pass me I have made it close to a mile and am feeling great, happy that I proved to myself and them that my lazy not joining a gym self can kick ass any day of the week.

I get home easy breezy, it's close to noon (we left at 10). Hubbie had wanted to do a crayfish broil but the crayfish had other plans. So Hubby and Grandpa were fishing instead.

They had a couple of fish, I drop my line in and get...

...this mo facky!

It's called a Striped Bass and gave me quite a fight. I caught a few more but put them back because we had plenty by that time.

The guys cooked us up a fish feast which was delish.

I swam a bit with the kids, they stayed in and played in the mud.



I watched the kids and read this book (loved it btw) while the grandfolks packed up and left.

Two of my sisters kids stayed another night, I didn't have the heart to end their fun.

My kids were out in the tent again last night, we aren't supposed to get rain till the weekend, so I guess that is were they'll be until then.

The kids start school in 2 weeks and feel it has been a terrific summer. We may have one more of these weekends, maybe Labor Day, with just us four.