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!!!