April 27, 2012

the white ROCK chickens are getting really big...they are 7 weeks old....

at least one of them is really close to making the Cock-A-Doodle-Doo call....

sorry neighbors...you will only have to hear it for a couple months.

Pleasant Dreams!!!

April 26, 2012

a little rainy and overcast to start the day...then the sun broke out this afternoon....

it never got warm though...barely made it to 50 degrees.

Tonight was Ross' birthday celebration at the ballpark in Lansing Michigan to watch the Lansing Lugnuts play...when we first moved here, we had seasons tickets every year....then the hour drive each way just got to be too much....we still try to go back a few times a year.

A few years ago they took some of the Suites out and remodeled the area into The Clubhouse, a bar/restaurant with seating inside and some out on the balcony.....tickets are a little more, but it is so nice to go outside to watch for a bit and then come inside to warm up and get something to eat/drink

we were really glad that we had  the clubhouse reserved for tonight because it

was in the mid 40's with a really strong breeze

Had a wonderful evening....GO NUTS!!!!!

we have a pet sitter named Penny that stops by the farm when we go out of town or just out for the day, the general rule is if we will be gone less than 5 hours, then the dogs , kitty and chickens will be fine......tonight we were gone for just over 4 , everyone was fine upon our return.

Pleasant Dreams!!!

April 25, 2012

the winds have dropped off a bit, great sunny morning and then turned rainy this afternoon/evening.

Ross started getting sick yesterday and so today he stayed home.....wanted to make him some soup for dinner and realized that another meal I haven't made yet this year is Pepper Soup.....it is a recipe we recived from the kids grandpa Dick...we can a bunch of quarts every year and all you need to add is hamburger (and salt & pepper to taste)

Pepper Soup: (family recipe tweeked a bit)
12 quart stock pot - 3/4 full of tomatoes (blanched)
bring to a rolling boil

cut your bell peppers (red, green, yellow or orange) into 1 inch square pieces
(about a large pepper per jar)

fill the clean hot jars with peppers....about 1/3 - 1/2 full and then add the stewed tomatoes ....leave about 1/4 head space......we use the hot lid/ring system and then we put the quart jars in a pressure canner for 20 minutes at 10lbs.

today when I made dinner....I took out 3 quarts of Pepper Soup and added 2 lbs of hamburger to it......served it over rice with the jalapeno bread I made the other day.

Pleasant Dreams!!!

April 24, 2012

another crazy windy day here.....lost power for awhile 

looked through the recipes and discovered that i hadn't made Rice Crispy Treats 

yet this year.....here is our recipe.....just a bit different.

Rice Crispy Treats:
3 Tbsp butter
1 package of marshmellows (10 oz)
2 tsp vanilla
6 cups of rice crispys

melt butter in a pan on stove.......add the marshmellows and vanilla....stir until creamy....add rice crispys and whatever else you desire......nuts, dried fruit, m & m's, chocolate chips.....stir it all together.

spread onto a cookie sheet....we lay waxed paper down first.....HELPFUL HINT......before you smash it flat with your hand or spatula......rub butter all over it and then nothing will stick.








the plants are growing well in the greenhouse....we don't use any kind of heating system......just let the Sun warm it up during the day and try to control the temperature inside by opening the door, window and roof vents.....the actual air temperature at night has been in the low 30's on average and during the day is has been in the mid to upper 50's on average




in the mornings it is about 40 degrees inside the greenhouse, during the day it can get into the 100's if I am not careful.....and a few hours of that can wilt / kill some of the plants......I try to keep it about 80 as an average and so far I have been able to do that each day.   FULL DISCLOSURE....we do have a ceiling fan and a fan in each peak of the building to suck out the heat if it gets too hot to control....we haven't needed to do this yet.


....so I head out to the greenhouse each morning to water the plants....then I return a few times each day to open or close things to regulate the temperature.

when I planted the flats....I put a seed in each end of the individual container.....so once they get a bit bigger, I will replant them into another container...so if you figure that each flat could be doubled...that is 20 - 28 flats at about $10  each......before the greenhouse we would buy 10 - 14 flats a year of veggies and flowers.

so far this year....I invested in a bag of planting soil and a couple envelopes of seeds...under $7....I would say that we are coming out WAY ahead on this deal!!!



got some chili out of the freezer and had chili dogs for dinner

Pleasant Dreams!!!

April 23, 2012

Today  is SMUCKERS 10th Birthday....she walked up the driveway almost 10 years ago

and decided she was home......all 4 of the dogs are strays....God given Blessings to Ross and I.

Opened the chicken door today to see if they would come out...it appears as though they sent out 1 scout and the rest huddled at the door....how funny!!!

I am trying to find the bright side to how crazy windy it has been....

hanging laundry on the line....it is dry within minutes....lol

had leftovers for dinner

Pleasant Dreams!!!

April 22, 2012

today is my husbands 57th birthday

he was born on April 22, 1955 on a Navy base in Charleston, South Carolina

this is how the dogs greeted daddy this morning...

and the kitty wanted to get involved too.....

our Sheba dog (who is 14+) was like WHATEVER....of course if you convert her age to human years she is right at 100.....she wore the sign but wouldn't be bothered with coming into the front room to say hello!!!

here is some "This is your Life" stuff for Ross.....

• His Dad was in the military so they traveled around a lot 
• he would rather be fishing than be at school as a kid
• he wrestled in high school
• he loves old cars and motorcycles
• he served in the Air Force from 1972 - 1980 (some of it in Germany)
• he has 3 great kids
• we met in 1992
• started Tri-State Technical Services in 1994
• bought the farm in Hanover in 1995
• got married on the front porch in 1996
• we now have 15 wonderful grandkids
• he loves doing anything outdoors
• he loves woodworking....something he learned from his grandpa
• when he retires he wants to make wooden wagons, toys, clocks and furniture

and the rest....as they say....is yet to be....

this is what he made for breakfast while i was at church....looks great!!!
not your typical breakfast...but hey...it is his birthday and he can eat whatever he wants!!!

tonight for dinner....we had pork chops on the grill, corn, apple sauce and a salad...
with 1000 island dressing of course (recipe on April 21)

 

Pleasant Dreams!!!

April 21, 2012

this is my 100th post.....I am really having fun doing this each day.

There was a Schwan's fundraiser at church today....worked there for a few hours this morning, then Ross and I had to head into town for some supplies to work on the landing......it is coming along nicely.

We had the tater-tot casserole from January 13th for dinner.  Tomorrow is Ross' birthday and I wanted to make some 1000 island salad dressing for dinner tomorrow....lots of firsts.....I have never used the food processor before.....Ross normally does that.....so first I had to make Mayonnaise....

Mayonnaise: this is from our LOWNEY cookbook from 1912

helpful hint.....make sure all the ingredients are at room temperature....so I took the eggs out of the fridge earlier today so they would be ready....

1/2 tsp ground mustard
1/4 tsp salt
2 eggs
2 Tbsp white vinegar
2 cups veggie oil  (it said to use olive oil....i will try that next time)

in the food processor, combine ground mustard, salt, eggs and vinegar....set the processor at a medium speed and gradually add the oil in...put into a container with a lid and store in the fridge....EASY.... and it tasted great as well. It has a yellow tint because this recipe included the entire egg.

the mayonnaise went into the fridge to cool, we went into the living room to watch a movie and then a couple hours later I made the 1000 island dressing.

1000 Island Dressing: (family recipe)
1 cup ketchup (homemade)
1 cup mayonnaise (homemade)
1/3 cup relish (homemade)
2 tsp worcestershire sauce
1 Tbsp sugar

mix all the ingredients together...if it is too thick....add a little milk....put it in a container with a lid and into the fridge to cool.....it tasted wonderful.....it should be even better tomorrow.

did some grocery shopping while we were in town (which is about a 30 minute drive) spent $63

Pleasant Dreams!!!