November 15, 2012

OPENING DAY for shotgun/rifle season!!!!

Ross had to work...Bummer.....then we went off to the V.A. Hospital

in Ann Arbor to get some X-Rays on his wrist....this is the cool thing about

the splint that they gave him.....it is Made in the USA and it has an

American Flag on it....very cool!!!



we should get the results in a couple of days...Ross will

get to go hunting this weekend!!!

the best part of going to the VA is that there is a TGI Fridays pretty

close and that is my most favorite restaurant.....we don't have any close

to us so it is a real treat when we do get to go....I have the same meal every

time....and it was delicious today!!!

Deer Stats in Michigan....

got this information from the news this morning...

 EHD (Epi­zootic Hem­or­rhagic Dis­ease) has killed between 30,000 - 50,000

deer total in just 30 of Michigan counties...ours being 1 of them

the deer herd in the state of Michigan is over 1.6 million

and the DNR projects that over 400,000 will be killed during

this bow, shotgun, rifle and muzzle season.

Pleasant Dreams!!!

November 14, 2012

the mornings have been cold...mid 20's...getting only into

the upper 30's low 40's for highs...well below what is average

for this time of year.

went to church early this morning to set up the Christmas decorations....

saw a couple of deer in the far field and a coyote about 50 feet from the

side of the road... LOVE living in the country.

today is our grandson Hayden James Justin Valentine's

1st birthday....Love you buddy!!

made a cookie cake to take over tonight....

tried a different recipe for the frosting....I normally use one that has milk in it....

found this one in a stack of recipes from my Mom.....THANKS!!!

Vanilla Frosting : family recipe

2 sticks butter softened

2 1/2 cups powdered sugar

1 Tbsp vanilla

mix your butter for 5 minutes (this is the key)..... then add the powdered sugar in a bit at a time...once it

is all added in...add the vanilla and mix for 2 more minutes....Tasted Wonderful!!!

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we lost power again at 2am.....it came back on about 5:30am...

so this set my timer off again by 3 1/2 hours....

these power outages are really messing with my chickens...

their timer comes on at 5am so that they are assured at least

12 hours of light a day....we will see how no morning light affects their egg

production tomorrow.....still getting 18 - 22 eggs each day...

today was 22....woohoo!!!



Pleasant Dreams!!!

November 12, 2012

yesterday it was 70 degrees......this morning it started out in the upper 50's

and went downhill (quickly) all morning...by noon we were in the upper

30's and it was snowing.....gotta LOVE living in Michigan....

dug up some of the lettuce that was planted in the garden on Sept.8th

took it to the greenhouse to continue growing....covered

the rest in the garden...we will see how long it can handle these

cold temperatures.....

you know that winter is coming....when all the furniture

has been removed from the porch.....

and the birdy bath has to come down....

when Ross got home we headed into town for some grocery

shopping...and then off to our Grandson Jacob's school

program for Veterans Day....well done bud!!!



Pleasant Dreams!!!

November 11, 2012

had a wonderful day at church...Pastor Bob preached

on GRACE....not just the Grace that GOD gives us, but

the Grace we should give each other!!!

www.h-hcc.org

Happy VETERANS Day!!!

Thank You to everyone who is and has served this Great country!!!

Ross served in the Air Force....

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it got to 70 degrees today....crazy for November....

but the winds were at a constant 20 - 25 mph

worked on Mikes Bunkhouse some more today....

the porch is coming along nicely...

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my Veterans choice for dinner tonight was.......BBQ Chicken on the grill,

Mashed Garlic Potatoes and Baked Beans...it was YUMMY!!!

Pleasant Dreams!!!

November 10, 2012

getting ready for opening day of deer hunting

rifle season.....November 15.....made some chili...

don't know how many hunters we will have here...

we worked in the back on Mikes Bunkhouse today...

poured the cement for the porch poles ...

the girls taking a break from helping us....

then we got cleaned up and went to the elementary for

the Daddy Daughter Dance....I worked at it....Ross and Joe

took the girls....

Pleasant Dreams!!!

November 9, 2012

movie date today was SKYFALL....it was great....

we would recommend it for sure....

 

Thanks for the tickets Frank!!!!

 

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My Great Grandpa Bert's financial diary for November 1912....

 

what they sold or earned for income:
15 lbs of butter = $4.95

83 bushel potatoes = $41.46

1 quart of milk = $.20

apples & onions = $.55

so $47.16 came in

so I am in need of some help with this months entry.....here is the picture taken right from his journal, the problem I am having is that the words just don't make sense.....please let me know if you can help make out any of it.....I put ??????????? where I need some extra eyes........also can anyone tell me what the + c at the end of the entries stand for?

what they purchased or paid:
gloves = $.10

daily paper  =  $1.00

pictures = $.25

lodge dues = $2.75

Dr hands ????? = $.50

corn sheller = $6.00

groceries (not specific) = $1.62

collar & bread = $.55

Sewis Hour per haul ??????? = $.65

beggar = $.10

flowers jennie = $1.00

baker = $.50

labor cleaning = $1.00

S. hour labor = $.50

1800 lbs coal = $3.95

repairing church = $18.00

baker = $.25

groceries = $2.29

drugs = $1.12

batteries & baby goods = $.75

rubbers = $.80

feed & flour = $1.65

 

so $45.33 went out

 

Pleasant Dreams!!!

November 8, 2012

had a crazy busy day today.....most Thursdays are this way....

in the midst of it all we had to can the green tomatoes...

we decided upon green tomato pickles.....we have never

had this before but it sounded like a good idea....

we did 3 different kinds...

this is what we normally make all of our pickles from...

good ole BALL....dill and bread & butter....

cut up the tomatoes into wedges and made the rest of the

 bread & butter mixture from this container....

enough for 3 quarts.....

did the same thing for the dill mixture that was left....

enough for 5 quarts....

now the problem was....we had a boatload of tomatoes cut

up and ready to go with no mixture....so we went on line....

found a recipe that we kind of liked and then enhanced it....

this one said to put the cut tomatoes, onions and salt in a container

and let it sit for 6 - 12 hours....

we put this all in the pan about 10am....then went to work ....

Green Tomato Pickles (sweet): canning

17 lbs cut green tomatoes

2 large onions ~ cut in slivers

1/2 cup pickling salt

now for the stuff that makes up the juice... 

2 lemons ~ seeded and cut up

2 1/2 Tbsp celery seed

7 1/2 Tbsp mustard seed

2 Tbsp dill seed

10 cups vinegar

5 cups water

1 1/2 cups sugar

2 cups brown sugar

mix this all together and bring to a boil.....meanwhile the salt in the tomatoes/onion mixture has created water.....drain this out....but do not rinse the tomatoes.....put the tomato/onion mixture into hot quart jars and pour the hot liquid over the top...leaving 1/2 inch headspace.....put on lid/ring and process in a boiling water canner for 15 minutes... made 9 quarts and 1 pint......we had liquid mixture left...but ran out of tomatoes.

they look amazing....will let you know how they taste in a couple of weeks

when we open up a jar.

Pleasant Dreams!!!