Old Friends, and New Friends and Family

I do not take good pictures, my mouth is always in a freaky pose...its either open, or I'm mid sentence, or whatever...but well, as you can see in this picture, Thanksgiving was no exception...lol... but my mother was quite happy to have both of her kids at the house for the holiday. Frank had to work, so he wasn't there. BUT my brother brought his new girlfriend to the house, and I must say, I like this one!!!! Yup, that blond guy in the picture is my baby brother. I hope you all had as good of a Thanksgiving as I did this year. Recipes to come over the next few days!!!!

Snickerdoodles

Snickerdoodles have probably been around as long as the chocolate chip cookie, only it uses a lot less ingredients and is such a simple cookie...simple yet tasty!!! My husband loves these cookies. I made a huge batch of them to send with my  hubby to work tonight, since it's a holiday (oh and Happy Thanksgiving to everybody out there).  I owe you guys a new recipe anyways!! I've been slacking!!! (really, I don't blame you guys if you are mad at me for the way I've been slacking here lately) So, I thought I'd share this recipe from my recipe box. I hope you all enjoy it as much as we do.

Ingredients:
2 & 3/4 cups all purpose flour
2 teaspoons cream of tartar
1 teaspoon baking soda
1/2 teaspoon salt
1 cup (2 sticks) unsalted butter, softened
1 & 1/2 cups granulated sugar
2 large eggs

Topping:
1/4 cup granulated sugar
2 Teaspoons ground cinnamon

Directions:

1. Whisk flour, cream of tartar, baking soda, and salt together in a small bowl.

2.  In a large bowl, with an electric mixer on medium-high speed, beat butter until creamy, about 2 minutes.  Add eggs one at a time, beating well after each. Add about one-third of flour mixture and mix on low speed. Gradually add remaining flour, mixing just until blended. Cover with plastic wrap and refrigerate until firm enough to roll into balls, at least 2 hours or overnight.

3.  Preheat oven to 375 degrees F.  To make topping combine sugar and cinnamon in a small bowl.

4.  Roll dough into 1-inch balls between your palms, then roll in cinnamon sugar to coat. Place 2 inches apart on cookie sheets; gently flatten just enough so they don't roll off. Bake just until light golden brown around edges, about 12 minutes. Move cookies to cooling racks, and cool cookies completely.

Well, that's all there is to it!!! I hope you all had a most wonderful holiday today!!! And if you are going out to do the Black Friday shopping, please be safe, and be kind to the workers, remember they have to stay through the madness!!!

Eggs, Chickens, and Chicks

Well, all 3 really do go together, in one order or another...you cant get one without the other anyways..but I thought I'd share some fun pics I took for you all...

I love to look at my eggs, to me they are almost works of art, truly, Nature is a gifted artist. I will never grow tired of looking at my farm fresh eggs, and then sighing when I see the sad plain looks of the ones at the grocery store, no matter how you pack them in the carton, they are simply, white or brown, not tan, pink, blue, green...speckled, off white or any of the other beautiful colors that I see in my hen house as I'm gathering them up for the day.

Nothing is funnier or more amusing than when my girls and boys see me walking up the hill with a bucket, no matter who its for, they are all going to gather there and push to see what I have, and if its going to be something tasty for them!!! As you all can see, I pretty much so have a rainbow of birds, and I love it!!!

The last 4 pics are of the last batch of chicks we hatched out. I put them outside yesterday, and worried greatly over them all night long. I would have kept them in the house much longer, but unfortunately they were growing rather crowded, and had no room. These little guys are loving life out there, and the cold does not seem to bother them one bit at all. Their houses is the dog house that we bought for Sam and Jasper when they were puppies and had some kennel time during the day so that they could play outside some. (They were much too little to be trained to the invisible fence at the time) Since it was a snap together dog house, all we had to do was to unsnap it, and it made 2 terrific little chicken houses. I did buy some more bedding today that I'm going to put out there in their pin. I'm going to try and insulate the backs and the sides as much as I can. Of course, now that they are outside  and have lots more space, they will really take off growing!!!!

Making Sausage

On Saturday, my husband and his best buddy butchered rabbits. They butchered a bunch of babies, well they weren't really babies any more, they were big eating machines, and after all we did get into rabbits for the meat of it. Well, ever since I had herd that people make sausage out of rabbit meat, that was one of those things that I was completely focused on, sausage...I could not wait, so my darling husband got me a kitchen aid meat grinder and sausage attachment.

This morning we went to our local Rockingham Coop and picked up some of the stuff we would need for it, which was the casings, and the seasonings. We found everything we needed there. (I love our coop, they have everything that a person could need for the most part when they farm)

Now, we didn't add any kind of pork or anything along those lines, this was just straight up rabbit and seasonings. We were quite happy when we saw the Morton Sausage and Meat Loaf seasoning mix, it really made life easier, because some of the recipes we looked at called for what seemed like a million and one different seasonings.

We ended up using about 3 pounds of rabbit meat, and made I'm not sure how many sausage links, because it was almost comical getting the process down, and getting everything right. The links are all different sizes, which won't really matter much, because its for our eating pleasure!!! We had enough of the meat left over, to make a few patties and they were fantastic!!! We still have some meat left in the fridge to do whatever we want with.

So, now that I've shared our latest farm adventure with you all, I'll see you all during the next adventure...which will probably be tomorrow, because the chicks are going outside!!! They aren't exactly chicks anymore though. (they grow up so fast)

The Holidays are coming, protect your pets

Yes, the Holidays are a very stressful time for just about everybody, did I make enough food, is the house clean enough, who is coming, who is not, who's allergic to what, and the list goes on, but for those of you who have pets, lets not forget their safety, and comfort, because it can be an exciting and dangerous time for them with many people in and out of your home.

Things to remember, we know for some guests who might feed their animals scraps or from the table, feeding your pet might be something they feel inclined to do...a friendly reminder that your little beggar does not need to be fed from the table or from your guests plate can save a visit to the vet if they eat something that might make them sick.

People are in and out of your front door, if you don't have a fenced in yard for your pooch, or one of those invisible fences to keep your dog out of the road, you may want to put your pup in a safe room, where they are less likely to get out of the house, and into harms way. Making sure that they have food and water, and get to go potty so they don't have an accident.

Some people are scared stiff of dogs, I know, I have a neighbor that is actually scared of my dogs. He thinks they look too much like wolves...*sigh* sometimes that's the silliest thing I hear about my Huskies, but make sure that if you do have a guest that's scared of dogs that badly, you may have to go ahead and put them in that comfortable room.

We don't really have anybody over here for the Holidays, we go out to my in laws for the most part, so I don't really have to worry about it. We do however have our own little celebration with our Dogs. They are after all part of our family.

So, remember in the coming weeks, to keep an eye out for your companions. After all, their safety is your responsibility.

another busy day

Hello everybody!!! Its been quite the busy day here today on the farm!!! Frank and his buddy Aaron worked on putting up the frame for the new rabbit house, which they should have finished on Saturday.  They also finished putting up what I'm going to call baby saver on the grow out pin for the chicks. These guys are just about big enough that they will be going outside this weekend. I've just got to get my bedding. We are going to take the dog house apart, and turn the bottom half upside down, and giving them 2 separate houses. It will keep them pretty warm with it being that low to the ground, and will keep too much breeze from getting in.

You know, its truly amazing how many uses you can get out of some things. Like the dog house. Its a plastic snap together that we bought at Tractor Supply way back when Sam and Jasper were puppies, and were in a Kennel. (Only during the day some so that they could play and get out some energy without tearing up the house, and not all the time..just a few hours at a time) We've used it in the chicken run/grow out pin multiple times. Our original chicken area for the first 8 chickens we ever had, was the dog kennel that we had the boys in. Of course once we get it set up to where the dogs cannot get into the new rabbit house, the kennel that we are using to keep their cages in, is going to go over to extend the chicken run.

Well, I suppose I should close this up. Tomorrow is another day!!! I hope everybody is staying warm, and remembered to thank a soldier today.

My favorite kitchen gadgets

I thought i'd share some of my favorite kitchen gadgets with you all. Some are kind of cheesy, but I love them...

The first two pictures are of a jar lid tightener made by Ball. I love this thing, it has a double use, not only is it good to make sure you get the rings on there just right, but it also has a little thing on the bottom of it to help pop those lids right off. It has saved me a lot of frustration getting the lids off of the jars that I've pressure canned.

The next thing is an old wire whisk that my Mother in law gave me. I don't think its uncommon, but I sure do think its neat. Its great for mixing gravy (when you are making the gravy right...*sigh*)

Now the next thing I got at walmart for $2...its one of those egg cracker things. I really, really like this thing. I don't use it a lot, but I do use it!!! I love the fact that I don't get egg shell in stuff when I crack them with it. OK, yes, its super cheesy, but it was cheap, and it's fun to use. I get a huge kick out of it.

The next thing is called the Veginator...seriously...It is totally awesome, and it totally works. You use it to turn the more firm vegetables into no carb spaghetti noodles. Being married to a diabetic, something like this is a great way to be able to enjoy pasta type foods, while maintaining the proper numbers that he needs to keep his blood sugar from plummeting through the roof.

Next is my Kitchen Aid Stand mixer. I have really been using the heck out of this bad boy here lately. I love it. Oh and please excuse the cob webs in that picture, I didn't realize they were there until just now. I plan on getting those as soon as I finish this post....

Then, lastly, my really adorable jar type salt and pepper shakers. I picked those up at the local coop, and just love them. They kind of fit into the country decor

So, what are some of the favorite things in your kitchen?????

Gravy Fail

Yup, thats right, Gravy fail!!! I decided its cold outside, I can break into that great chicken meat that we canned over the summer, and I can turn some of the broth into gravy...and we will have chicken and rice with gravy...well, I've never made home made gravy before...Just gravy from a packet...so 45 minutes later I'm really starting to think, this gravy has to be getting close to done...wait, maybe I should turn up the heat and get it to a rolling boil...I think it needs more corn starch...add add add, stir stir stir...stir stir stir...add add add...Franks alarm clock goes off signaling that he's about to get up for the "day" (he works night shift) so I stir it frantically, thinking that it should be good enough...turns out I should have made a paste with the corn starch, and then slowly stirred it into the broth, and then I would have had gravy...I tell my husband, who grew up with a mother who made home made gravy that I just don't know what I've done wrong...he tilts it this way and that, and says well look at that, its all clumped up in the bottom...

So, now that you all know my dirty little secret...That I'm a gravy from powder girl from way back...I will close this up, and go back to my corner of shame!!!!

They come and they go

Hello there, sorry for the lack of pictures in today's blog. Things have been rather busy here, especially with the colder weather!!! It got up to a whole whopping 45 degrees here today!!!
But, I thought I'd catch you all up a little, and don't worry there will be pictures.

On Wednesday, we brought home a new buck, who was born on March 22. He is a beautiful Black Silver Fox. As soon as he is through is isolation period, we will be putting him with Ginger I'm thinking. I have named him Bob. I decided to name him after a celebrity that I really liked, and who lived a good, long life...and my hubby likes this particular Celebrity as well...So its Bob, as in Bob Hope. (yeah, I know..I have problems...lol)

This morning, 3 of my Silver Fox offspring went to new homes. They took one from each littler. The Lilac boy, One of Ginger's girls, (Black) and One of Doris's girls (Blue). I think I was the most sad to see the Lilac go, because he was a very love-able boy. He was nice and cuddly, but I really don't need any boys at this time. Unfortunately, the best looking kit in with Ginger, is a boy..he has some great silvering, and even though I don't need another male, its taking all I have in me, to not keep him.  If it weren't for the space issue, I believe he would be kept. I might try to get some good pics of him, and see if anybody in the Silver Fox group is interested in buying him.

I need to get busy on my quilting, I'm rather far behind in all of that. Once I get to a good point, I will take some pictures to share with you all!!!!

Well, better get off of this computer. I have what feels like a million and one things to do yet today, and then it will be time to feed the animals for the night.

Thankful

In November, on Facebook, there are tons of people who do the 30 days of what they are thankful for, and by the 5th day, you can really tell some people are stretching pretty hard. I've decided to share my list of things I'm thankful for here with you all. It may not seem like a huge list, but its the important things, and not material things.

1. My husband.  Yes, my husband is at the top of my list. Frank takes such great care of me, and when I'm having a bad day, he does what he can to help me around the house. He helps me with the animals, and does the nasty parts that I can't handle...and he kills spiders for me. We have a great partnership in our marriage, and it works out fantastically.

2. My family. My family is there for us, as we are there for them. Its great to be able to spend the time and make the memories with them that we do.

3. Health.  We may not be 100% all the time, but we are alive, and kicking, so that means an awful lot right there

4. Our Friends. What is life without good friends to celebrate with??? To share the good times, and the bad??? And to maybe help out with some of the yucky farm stuff

5. The Animals that give their lives to feed us.  Lets face it, Even the meat we buy at the grocery store was once alive, and had to die to get there. So I always give thanks to those animals that we raise up, and love, and care for, that end up in our pantry.

6. Living in a Free country.  Yes, living in America as a woman, I have so much more freedom than women in other countries do. I have the right to wear what I want, go where I want, and basically do what I want, so long as I'm not breaking any laws. I can worship how I want, and I got to choose my husband. I was even allowed to be Educated the same way the men/boys in my class were.

Now yes, that may have seemed like a very short list, and I am thankful that I have some of those material things, but that's all they are, material things, and they don't count the way the things that made my thankful list do. I didn't want a silly list, or a repeat of things that are basically the same, but worded differently.

I hope you all are celebrating your family and freedom, as well.  I would love it if you shared some of the things you are thankful for in the comments below.