December 31, 2012

the final day of 2012.....what an AMAZING journey it has been.

I have thoroughly enjoyed doing the blog each day, and I do plan

on continuing it, just not every day.....we do have some exciting

new adventures planned at the farm this upcoming year...so we will

keep you posted!!!!

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filled up the bird feeders this morning, then turned to look

at a bird in a different tree and could not believe what I saw....

December 31st in Michigan...we should not

still have Robins here...no worms for them to eat....

not sure what this means about 2013 Spring.

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made another loaf of Dutch Oven Bread.....it came out

perfect....I love this recipe (August 17)....so very easy ....

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some more 2012 recaps.....

General Store Expenses

our goal was to keep our grocery bill to $1,912 for the entire

year, that came to roughly $160 a month....and we kept it under

that amount for 7 months.....the total that we spent in groceries for

2012 was $2,131.....that is about $177 a month, so not bad.....

if you look at the General Store TAB on the homepage of the blog,

there are a few months when we had a bunch of entertaining going

on at the farm, so additional grocery items had to be purchased.

Recipes

we made 119 recipes during this year...some came out great,

others were a flop....I love to bake...but I am not a cook....this

year has stretched me in that area and i am grateful.....I will

continue to add new recipes in 2013.

Chickens Income/Expenses

the White Rocks (meat chickens) cost us $220.50....here is the breakdown

that is $14.70 per chicken..... each chicken weighed approx 4.5 lbs

so that comes to $3.26 per lb

 

the Rhode Island Reds (laying hens) cost us from birth March 7

 to August 31, 2012 ....... $398 .....from then to now we have added

the expense of feed each month and have sold 210 dozen eggs..

so today we have it down from $398 to $336....it will take me most

of next year to break even....gotta love fresh eggs...so it is worth it!!!

 

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started this year with my brother Tim here at the farm....he was a

constant supporter of the Blog...so it is exciting to have him back

again to finish the year off together.....

 

now to my THANK YOU's before the ball drops..... 

to my husband Ross, you are an amazing man and it has been

a blast taking this year long adventure with you.

to Mom and brother Tim....I appreciate your daily

support, suggestions and love.

to our kids, grandkids, nieces, nephews and rest of the family....

Thanks for taking this journey with us....we appreciate your

flexibility about meals while hanging out and helping

out at the farm.

my Church family and Facebook friends....you guys Rock....

your comments kept me smiling and encouraged me to continue.

and most importantly...I thank Jesus, my Lord and Savior

for laying out each of these days this past year...some AMAZING

GOD moments have happened...no person could have laid the

path out so perfectly.....for us to meet the family we met in Pennsylvania....

for the excitement about the history of the Miller Family and then to have

these boxes of family treasures to connect the dots....to have NO FEAR in

the kitchen baking or cooking...to have every visitor to the farm make

something in the kitchen.....and hopefully to inspire someone to make

something from scratch, do some research into their family history

 and try to LIVE OFF THE LAND!!!!

Happy New Year!!!!!

Pleasant Dreams!!!

December 30, 2012

last Sunday of 2012.....enjoyed Church today...

take a listen to Pastor Bob's message.... www.h-hcc.org

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got home and went right to cleaning the chicken coop....

because a wheelbarrow will not work in a foot of snow,

we go to plan B in the winter......a tarp.....and drag it

across the snow...

Ross bringing me some new straw....

spreading it out in the coop.....



a couple of the chickens flew out of the coop and

then freaked out when they landed in a foot of snow....

then Brother Tim arrived and we started watching some

football......had some football snacks.....and then more

football.....I started taking down the Christmas decorations

in between games....this will take a couple days!!!

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As we come to the end of 2012 and finish the

Living off the Land blog, I will do some yearly

totals and recaps......tonight it is ....

Canning

 

we started this year with 849 canned jars of food....this

consisted of 45 different types of items...and was from the

2010 and 2011 season.

 

we did our first canning on July 20, 2012

and our last on November 8, 2012....

this was a long canning season...but we were

thrilled at how everything continued to produce.

 

this year we canned 588 jars total...with 35 different

types of items. This number is in our normal range...

this year though, we did not get any fruit...so no jellies, jams,

pies or applesauce was made....and that is normally another

75-100 jars .....we are hopeful for our fruit trees in 2013.

 

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the BLOG status page gives all kinds of cool info.....

here are the most visited dates of the blog so far....in order....

 

In the beginning....December 11, 2011(the first post)

April 21

December18

November 26

 

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the other cool stat is how many visitors have come to the BLOG....

as of tonight it is 12,275....  

 

The top 3 countries (in order) that have visited the BLOG 

 

United States 11,354

Russia    469

Germany  387

 

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I have had a BLAST doing this each day.....

 

Pleasant Dreams!!!

 

 

December 29, 2012

this blog actually starts last night...we had to brine the
22 lb Turkey for lunch tomorrow..

we brine it right in the cooler...2 gallons water, 2 cups salt ,

1 Tablespoon each of Rosemary, Thyme and Sage..

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the grandkids made this new punch for today....

THANKS for the recipe Mom!!!!

Lip-Smakin Punch :  this was the name Ross decided on!!!

1 gallon apple cider (not apple juice)

3 cinnamon sticks

1/2 cup cherry jello mix

1 can frozen Orange Juice

mix everything together in a large crock pot....turn it to warm...and you have a great punch!!!

we made Crescent Rolls for lunch....recipe on March 31, 2012

all finished...they turned out GREAT!!!

had a wonderful day with the family....enjoyed opening

gifts and a fantastic meal!!!

Pleasant Dreams!!!

December 28, 2012

today would have been my brother Mikes 51st birthday..

we miss you so very much!!!

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our Amy and family are in to celebrate Christmas....

they will spend the night tonight and then Joe and family will

join us tomorrow afternoon.

I made a cake for dessert tonight.....used the white icing made a

couple days ago.....decorated the top of it with a handy trick...

when you get those little Hershey bars at trick or treat time,

I save them for this reason exactly.....

run the peeler down the long side and then sprinkle the pieces

on top of an iced cake

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the family arrived safely.....we had tacos for dinner and

then off to open Christmas Gifts....Woohoo!!!

finished the evening with a movie (The Lorax) and a game

of HEDBANZ.....hilarious!!!

off to bed....busy day tomorrow!!!

Pleasant Dreams!!!



December 27, 2012

looking through some pictures today....promised to do some before

and after pictures of the house and some of the rooms....

all of the BEFORE pictures are dated October 1995

 all of the AFTER pictures were taken today...

we added an eight foot wrap around porch on the main  level

and a four foot porch around the cupola

we left the kitchen area exactly the same... 

just added a bigger porch out front

Master Bedroom...steps up to the Cupola...

everything was redone and the ceiling was raised...

the room is still not finished...only because we can't decide

what we want to do on the floor.

Master Bathroom

this room isn't finished either....we want to add a window

on the back wall and raise the ceiling....we did add

a sink and a Jacuzzi tub back in 1995

the Parlor then...

the floors were Pine.....we redid every floor in the house with

5 inch Oak planks.

and today...

standing in the Parlor looking into the front room...

we wish we would have kept these Parlor Doors...

standing in the Front Room looking up the stairs

and into the main floor guest bedroom

we had to enlarge the opening going up the stairs...

we couldn't fit a queen size mattress through the original opening...

standing in the kitchen area looking into the dining area....

the door on the left goes into the main house...

the door on the right goes into the bathroom..

the kitchen cabinets were the standard set you buy from

the Sears Catalog....we are using them in Mikes Bunkhouse

in the back of the property



 

we added the pantry doors to hold all the canned goods

this is from the dining area looking into what would become

the kitchen...you can see that the floor slopes down badly....

this is the room that they would bring the cows into during

the winter to milk...

we had to build a new floor and we put in a breakfast bar

to divide the 2 rooms...

we kept the vaulted ceiling in the dining area, but lowered

the ceiling in the kitchen area

Pleasant Dreams!!!

December 26, 2012

today was our first BIG snowstorm...we got about 6 - 7 inches...

but with the blowing and drifting...it is hard to tell...

our Sheba dog loves the snow.....we have to watch her though,

because she will fall asleep and be completely covered with snow...

I have lost her before....and now that she can't hear very well

 we put her inside when it was just started to snow.... silly doggy!!!!

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we made a new recipe for dinner tonight....another Meat Loaf

Cheese-Filled Meat Loaf : taste of home recipe....I changed quite a bit though

1/2 cup milk

2 eggs lightly beaten

2 Tbsp Worcestershire sauce

1 cup diced green peppers

1 tsp salt

1/2 tsp ground mustard

1/2 tsp pepper

1 cup diced onion

2 cups cracker crumbs

mix all of these items together and then add in 2 lbs of ground beef....

put a 14+ inch piece of reynolds wrap out on the counter...

spread your beef into a rectangle...

spread 1 cup of sour cream over the top of the beef mixture

then add 1 cup of shredded cheese over the sour cream

grease a 13 x 9 casserole dish....

roll the meat ....starting from small side....

place it into the dish seam side down and flatten the ends

bake at 350 degrees for 1 hour 15 minutes or until it reaches 160 degrees

add 1/2 cup shredded cheese on top and bake for 5 more minutes....

let it rest for 10 minutes.....we served it with steamed green beans....YUMMY!!!!

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we ran out of our store bought Soy Sauce last night...so we gave it a try...

Soy Sauce : got this from chowhound.com .... but we made some changes (as usual)

4 Tbsp beef bouillon

4 tsp red wine vinegar

2 tsp molasses

1/4 tsp ground ginger

1/8 tsp black pepper

1/8 tsp garlic powder

1/2 tsp thai fish sauce

1 1/2 cup water

in a sauce pan....combine all ingredients and boil gently uncovered for 5+ minutes.....store in refrigerator.

Pleasant Dreams!!!

December 25, 2012

M E R R Y   C H R I S T M A S !!!

it will be Ross and I together all day, no leaving the farm....

pajamas all day....the best Christmas Gift!!!

breakfast this morning was eggs and bacon for me...Ross

on the other hand had to make one of his crazy refrigerator

omlettes....if you don't know what that is.....here is the definition...

you open the fridge...and the first food item that catches your eye goes

into an omelet....pizza, baked beans, shrimp, nachos, spaghetti, chili...

these are just some of the creations that have been made in the kitchen...

but today tops the list.....the MAC & CHEESE from yesterday....



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we are so grateful for all the treats we receive at Christmas time....

one of my favorites is Vicky's cinnamon rolls.....so I asked Ross

to go in search of the Best White Icing Ever....to put on top of

the cinnamon rolls.....so he googled that exactly...and this is what

he came up with....

Best White Icing Ever : a site we frequent often.... allrecipes.com...with some changes

4 cups powdered sugar

1/2 cup shortening

1/2 cup butter

2 tbsp milk

1 tsp vanilla

beat on low to combine it all together...then go to medium for about 4 -5 minutes...PERFECT icing!!!

spread a bunch on top of the cinnamon roll and into the microwave for 30 seconds...

not good for the diet but a perfect lunch !!!



all the animals get a special treat for their Christmas meal....

for the chickens..it was a bunch of grapes....this was also the first

measurable snow that the chickens have experienced...so it was

quite a challenge to get them to come out of their house.... 

Shish-Ka-Bobs for dinner....

had a wonderful day..... Pleasant Dreams!!!

December 24, 2012

had a crazy busy day today...started early...

Ross took our grandson to work with him and

I picked up the other 4 grandgirls and came back to

the farm to make cookies...

made some Chocolate Chip Squares (their favorite)

and we tried a new recipe...Vernor's Cookies...now for you

folks that aren't from Michigan...VERNOR'S is a ginger ale

made here in Michigan since 1866...it tastes wonderful...and if you have

ever had a cold and you're from this part of the country, you have

probably been given warm Vernor's as medicine at some point

in your life.

this recipe called for a Boxed White Cake Mix....well since we

make most everything from scratch....here is that recipe first...

White Cake Mix : from a great site....chickensintheroad.com

2 1/2 cups flour

2 cups sugar

1/2 dry milk or powdered buttermilk

1 tsp baking powder

1/2 tsp baking soda

mix it all together and set aside......

Vernor's Cookies : from thecookieadaychallenge.com

1 white cake mix

1/4 cup butter

2 eggs

1/3 cup Vernor's

mix the softened butter, eggs and Vernor's together...blend that into the cake mix....drop on greased cookie sheet in a 375 degree over for about 13 - 15 minutes....

i didn't grease my pans and so the first batch stuck really bad.....the second batch

came out better.....then you make a Vernor's drizzle to go on top....

Vernors Drizzle :

2/3 cup powdered sugar

2 Tbsp Vernor's

mix it together and drizzle baby!!!!

the grandkids love watching every step of making cookies, so they all

climb up on the kitchen counter to see me mixing everything....too funny!!!

for lunch we made....Mac & Cheese and Ham/Turkey/Cheese roll ups

returned the Super Heroes to their home about 2pm....

had a bunch of stuff to do before Christmas Eve Service

tonight at church....then it started to SNOW....it was very

pretty to watch, but then Ross called and said that the roads

were treacherous....and they were....it took me over 25 minutes

to make the normal 7 minutes drive to church....

the Service was GREAT....JESUS is the Reason for the Season!!!

Merry Christmas EVE!!!

Pleasant Dreams!!!