Simple Things

It's so easy to let our lives get caught up in daily activities and the need to keep up with our neighbor's shopping habits, but is this really healthy?
When you look at your stress level compared to that of your grandparents, what so you see?
Yes, I realize my grandparents had some stress, but not like what I sometimes add to my own life.
This fact really hit home as I watched Mr McDoodle with his ham bone. He was so delighted over something so meaningless most.
In my life I must simplify. I must remove the overly dramatic people.
I have placed a stack of empty boxes by my front door. As I sort, deep clean and rearrange each room, I am removing anything that complicates my life.
It is truly amazing how little is left after this process is barely started in each room! Yes, for now all the rooms ate torn apart. So what?! I am deep cleaning and purging my life of stress and drama.
Refreshing!

Just Knowing My Bill Will be Low!

Hi! Welcome back. Come in and warm your feet by the fire.
Today was my lucky day! I was able to pick up a Jeep load of wood from a nice family on Joliet_Area_Freedom ( yahoo group). All this beautiful wood was piled in the back of my Jeep, along with some kindling.
We will be warm for quite a few days without the furnace kicking on very often. That means that Nicor gas will, once again, be getting very little of my hard warned money!
My gas bill for November, on a 1200 sq ft house, was $36.00!
How much was your November 2010 heating bill?

Grey Water Garden in Winter

Good evening!
Merry Christmas!
Isn't the grey water garden lively in all this fluffy snow?! Today I'm on my 5th load of laundry, so the garden is thawed. It's nice to have a water source for all the wildlife... and my neighbor's little herd of stray cats! It's also nice to have a source of water fir my fruit trees and vegetable garden all year.
How pleasant to look out my kitchen window and see a bird hopping around by one of the ponds.
Imagine if every one of your neighbors put in a grey eater garden?! How much less usable water would go onto the sewer lines! How much greener their landscaping would be!!!

Pre-Storm Morning

Good morning! Are you ready for the snow and ice? Apparently my chickens were unconcerned about the coming storm as they were in a hurry to get out of the coop and vie for optimum space on the one remaining perch in their run!

Hat for Kelsey

My latest creation... For a little girl at Matt's school who doesn't have a hat. She asked for blue and purple... hope she likes it!

Finished for Today

Well, friends, I finished for today. Not because I am happy with the results, but because it is getting too cold for my feathered children to be out in their run... they spent most of the time I was insulating in their run bracing the cold and high winds. All except for one young lady who insisted on supervising me while rebuilding the neat I tire apart. why does she insist on laying her eggs next to the main coop Dior (human door) instead of in the nesting box?
Here's hoping my feathered children are warm enough tonight as temps drop and the wind picks up!

Beginning Insulating as the Wind Picks Up

Okay, so the staple gin jammed and I can't get it unstuck, so I tried the red tape which did not stick well and moved on to liquid nails which is working well so far. Still 30F in here.

Before Insulating

This is what the walls of the coop look like as I prepare to insulate. It is currently 30 F in here.

Sunday at Home

Good morning, dear friend! How is your morning going so far? Come on in, if you dare! Today Matt and I stayed home to rest and try to catch up on chores and family time... planning to be back in church next Sunday as my cold seems to have run it's course! This, of course, is my little wood stove... I'm afraid to admit the wood rack is indeed empty except for one small log I'm saving for tonight when the temps drop to a minus 35 wind chill... right now I'm burning scrap wood from a clean-up at work, including wood shingles... So far today we are toasty... Matt and I are watching "League of Extraordinary Gentlemen" while doing laundry and brushing a freshly bathed Me McDoodle... Hope your day is blessed!

A Good Morning!

Well, hi there! How are you? We're all doing splendidly.
How have your temps been? It's been averaging about 10 F degrees in the coop overnight. Just too cold!

Thoughts While Waiting

Well, good afternoon! 

Glad you could stop by to chat a minute... 

here I sit waiting for Matt's school to let out... 

I'm not very good with just sitting, so I tend to knit and/or make lists... 

Today my thoughts are on the cold weather... 

Too cold to be out doing chores...

 But up to 22 F degrees

As soon as I pick up Matt, we have to stop by a house that offered us free firewood (subsistence living)... 

Then pick up something fairly healthy to eat and head back to work... 

 Tonight I have for to get tarps strung up around the chicken run ...

 I am thinking I van use a length of rope run through the loops on the shower curtains and tarp and run in and out of the chicken wire and frame of the run... 

Has to be done to protect the feathered children from the frigid winds... 

Then I also absolutely must begin stapling leftover floor padding in between the wall studs in the coop... 

A quick attempt at insulating...

 I'll staple clear plastic over it... 

Think that will be a lot easier to clean that drywall or durarock...

 Last few times I was out in the coop it was 10- 20 F out there!

 Way too cold for my poor chickens...

 I'd like them as comfortable as possible...

What are your coop strategies?

Thoughts While I Wait

As I sit and wait for Matt to get out of school, I must admit my thoughts have been turning toward how unprepared I really am for any real emergency.
I survive week to week on what firewood I can scrounge/ barter.
We barely have a weeks worth of groceries in the house.
I am almost completely dependent on the utility companies.
I do not have a support system in my neighborhood. In fact, I may actually have the opposite of it!
What can I do to stabilize our future?
Attempt to stock back up on groceries.
Look further for a like-minded individual as a potential room mate.
Start hooking up solar and wind power a little each pay day.
Pray.

Farmer Fred is Watching

Hello! So nice of you to stop by our snowy homestead. Come on in for a cup of hot coffee and a chat. I just put on a fresh pot. Hope you don't mind, but I'm using a drip coffee maker at home.
Take a peek out the kitchen window...

3 Eggs!

Hello! Welcome back. So glad you could stop by on this cold, cold day! Come around back an take a look at my fluffy little egg layers.
Last night there were actually three eggs waiting for me!

The Perfect Tree

>

> I think I've found the perfect Christmas tree! It's a little short, too
>

Johnny Cakes a la Matthew!

Well, good afternoon! You're just in time for lunch. Matt's making johnny cakes. Today's his first lesson on johnny cakes. For today's recipe he mixed a can of corn, 2 fresh eggs, a box of Jiffy corn bread mix and some milk. One recipe at a time Matt is learning to be a self-sufficient adult. The goal is to be able to completely care for himself by the time he is 18-years-old. We're off to a great start!

A Quiet Sunday at Home

Hi! Glad to see you! I'm still coughing, but you can come in if you dare. Today I'm primarily resting. No church :( and only really supervising cleaning. Matt made eggs and toast with apple butter for breakfast. Then he let the chickens out and got them clean, warm water. After that Matt and Mr McDoodle went for a jog around the block, a recent excercise he added on his own that completely exhausts Mr McDoodle! Then Matt hauled in a bit of firewood and kindling, stripped his bed and collapsed on the family room floor next to Mr McDoodle! Me? I'm knitting and trying to decide which 2-4 loads of laundry we should wash tomorrow and keeping the fire going. Happy Sunday and talk to you later!

New Beginnings

Hi, all! Welcome back. As you can tell, I am making a new beginning. Sometimes one just has to start over... rethink their direction on this planet... and begin again. 

My new slogan for my life is 'back to basics', something my boss says a lot! Don't tell him I'm using his slogan~ we just don't want him that happy, now do we?! 

All joking aside, I am thinking about a more real-life touch to our relationship... keeping you more up to date on our daily lives... are you ready for reality? 

Okay, so today being my one day off and Sunday, there should have been prescribed activities... but, as it turns out, I am dealing with a cold and didn't feel like sharing it with everyone at church... I know, I'm selfish not to share, but what can I say? 

Instead Matt and I slept in... ah the luxury... Matt cooked a breakfast of scrambled eggs with bits of beef stick and cheese... then we watched a Christmas movie on the Hallmark Movie Channel, lost a few rounds of Super Mario on Wii to Matt then washed 3 loads of laundry (not making a dent in the laundry still needing washing!). Now we are home... Matt hauled in firewood, played in the ashes of the grill (guy thing?), took a full bath and is playing Wii again... 

I have a dinner of dehydrated ham, mustard greens and squash in the crock pot... hopefully done soon! 

Life is good... sometimes a day that doesn't go according to plan is the best kind of day!  

This is Fresh and We are Blessed!

Breakfast Treat!

Good morning! Such a beautiful crisp fall morning for company. Come on around back and see my feathered children. This morning I gave them a snack of popcorn with a bit of leftover spaghetti. Of course someone always has to jump up into the middle of the platter and kick food everywhere! Why do feathered children do this? I have to tell you that they were so sweet last night. When I went out to check their dishes and put them to bed, they let me pet them. They were even purring softly~ or making whatever soft pleasure noise feathered children make when they are happy! Regardless, it was nice to have the opportunity to pet each one and tame them a little! How are your feathered children today?!