Making Memories :)

My Mom made all our bread and buns when I was a child.. at least that's how I remember it :) I remember she had this HUGE bowl and she'd put in on a chair in the kitchen and put sugar, warm water, and yeast in it. Then she'd leave it until it bubbled!! Then a lucky someone got to stir while she added oil, salt, eggs, and flour.. A LOT of flour!! My sister Maria recently made Moms recipe and she informed me it makes 8 doz buns, and a loaf!! That's a LOT of great eating. I remember that us stirrers would get bigger the more flour my Mom added. First us smaller crew, Maria and I, then our older (and stronger) sisters Ang and Susan, and finally the tough guys Danny and Tom, if they were around.. if not Mom would take up the spoon and beat that dough into while dough!! Then she'd get her her hands in there and pretty soon there would be a very well mannered bowl full of dough that she'd run oil on top of, cover with a plastic sheet and then a towel and leave to rise. I say well mannered because several years later, after Papa and I were married, I tried making dough just like that.. it's not a easy thing to get it the right consistency. Not too sticky and not to hard or lumpy!! After a while one of us kids would be sent to 'look in on the dough' if it was over flowing the bowl we rushed back to tell Mom and she'd come beat it into the bowl, cover it with oil again, then the plastic sheet and finally the towel. She normally let it rise twice. Then we'd get busy!! It was a production I assure you. Mom would slick the counter down with oil, plop the dough down in the middle, grab a knife and start cutting off bun sized chunks. Before you could say bun dough there was little pieces of dough everywhere!! Us girls would slick up our hands from the counter top and start rolling!! Pans moved I tell you. We were awesome!! What I remember most though is the days when it was raining or snowed in or just a good day to stay inside Mom would tell us all to sit at the counter and hand us each a plop of dough. Or days when she had too much dough. She'd put a tray in front of us and tell us to 'go to' and we did!! We made cinnamon buns, hot dogs buns fulled with chocolate chips and all sorts of creations.We had some little rolling pins and some butter knifes and we created!! In fact one of my very favorite snacks came from these creations. A fresh bun with a handful of chocolate chips melted into the center!! YUM!!! These memories warm my heart and I want my kids to have the same memories with me. They had a absolute blast!!  The only difference being that I don't ever remember 'creating' in my Pj's :)

Chicken Butchering Day :) (Pictures)

After our little birds last year Papa decided that we were not butchering at a certain age this year but at a finished state. Makes sense right?? Well it worked great and the birds were FABULOUS!! I have no idea what they weighted in at as we did not weigh a single bird but at 12 weeks they were the healthiest birds we've ever had and a very good size. I guess that is what a diet of grass, milk and grains will do!! Even though it was wet all spring and they stayed inside longer then we've ever kept birds these birds did amazing!! We did have a few road runners as we did get unsexed birds and some of them did revert back to the Cornish game hen side of their ancestral parents. We did have a bit of a hard time planning chicken butchering day as we were not sure WHEN it would be but it all worked out in the end and we had quite a crew on the actual day. BONUS, it only rained for about 30 minutes in the afternoon when we were already totally soaking wet and we didn't even have to stop production :) The forecast had been for thunder showers all morning and rain all afternoon. I think the Lord knew our plight and whisked those rain clouds away before they dumped their load :) Thanks Lord!!

Here are the birds out on pasture a week or so before butchering day. The clover was over their heads and they did a great job of eating it down. They ate the leaves even off the ground after the clover had been walked over. Amazing job!!

These boys start the whole process. They are the bird catchers. This year we used some wire panels to keep the birds in a small area and away from food over night and to make catching them for butchering MUCH easier and it WORKED!! :) They weren't the only kids who took a turn!! 

My Uncle Ray.. as far as I'm concerned he has the worst job.. He gets the birds from the catching kids, puts the birds head down in a killing cone (behind him you can see the legs of a bird out the top of a killing cone) slits the vein in the throat and when the bird is done passes the bird on to Mr. B.

Mr. B takes the birds from Uncle Ray puts their legs in the cool leg holders on the board and dunks them up and down, up and down into 145 degree water for about 60 seconds or until the wing feathers pull out nicely. This is a stinky job, or at least it is if you are me and pregnant :) The water is heated from the bottom by a propane torch. Cold water is added if needed. Mr B also takes care of the plucking. We rented a drum plucker for the day and this little girl was in charge of the water hose to rinse the birds off while they plucked. Mr. B places the hot birds out of the scalder into the plucker and turns it on. This little girl sprayed them off while they go around and around. This plucker is amazing and saves us hours of time. Totally worth the $20.00 we rent it for. Papa and I dream of having our very own plucker and scalder!! 

I like this next picture as it shows a lot. The girl is spraying into the plucker, the kids in the background are catching birds or watching outside the fence. The boy standing by the table cuts the legs and heads off the birds before they go to Papa to be eviscerated. The buckets on the tables are for hearts and livers. 

A better picture of Papa eviscerating.. or gutting!! He is pretty quick and can do a bird in about 30 seconds.. consistently. He had a great teacher.. Joel Salatin :) http://polyfacefarms.com/

Then the bird goes to US!! Yes us cleaning girls, and sometimes children and men!! We look each bird over, cut off the tails (we prefer them gone), take extra fat off  (that's what is in the bucket), pick pin feathers, clean out insides and generally get the birds in TIP TOP shape for the freezer. Papa rigged up the water system which is SO nice and we have running water the whole time. As I'm the only one of the bunch who's done A LOT of birds and as most of the birds are mine :) I'm at the very end of the line. I check every bird that goes through! Actually that's not true!! I did have a little helper on this day and she took my all done, nice clean birds and placed them in the cooling tanks for me!! Saving me extra steps and boy I was grateful as these boys kept us pretty busy!! 

Here is a pretty good over view picture!! BTW THANK YOU VANESSA for taking pictures. I'm normally much too busy to even think of them!! The kids helped clean birds and the stack of pallets with the bucket on it is where they could stand to reach the table. Mr. B also did help with the cleaning whenever he wasn't busy which really helped some of the boys with the idea that only girls clean birds. 

Awesome picture of some of the little helpers babysitting and keeping little Miss Miller happy watching the boys catch birds :) 

The chill tanks :) After the birds have chilled we start bagging and cutting up. Cutting a bird into pieces is no fun alone but as a group it can be a fun activity!! We cut up about 90 birds after butchering on this day. The most we've ever done. Chicken butchering helpers receive birds for helping, as did my mom for babysitting through out the year and on butchering day. It sure was nice not to have to be a parent and head cleaner at the same time!!  Our wonderful neighbors who gave us the wire panels that made our lives VERY MUCH EASIER also got some birds :) 

After the last bird is bagged it's time to clean up the mess!! Because we do our butchering on grass there isn't as much mess as there could be. Working in mud is no fun!! And after the cleanup.... PIZZA!!!! Thanks everyone who helped make chicken butchering 2011 a great day!!  Oh and total birds done.. 176 in about 5 hours!!

Speaking of...

Feast or famine.. that pretty much sums up my blogging lately :) I've been working on getting house stuff done that really needed doing and now that we only have computer I can no longer blog or go online while the kids are watching movies. So I've been reading more during their movie times. Just as a general update we've had MUCH more rain then sun this summer so far. We are getting some sun this week and farmers are cutting hay like mad trying to get it down, dry and in before it starts raining again. So far our SUMMER high has been 25C which is about 78F!! Yeah if it hits 20C we are pretty excited and spend hours outside. The pool has stayed under the porch, the hose is pretty much unnecessary, and the grass is AMAZING!!!

This piece of grass is from OUR OWN place!! It's taller then Papa!! We found some in PG for Papa's citizenship ceremony that was a good foot taller then Papa!! We've had FLOWERS here taller then E!!

I found the kids one mostly sunny day all staying dry under a table outside!! They had a blast!! 

Another day it was showering on and off and whenever it was 'off' I kicked them outside to play on the trampoline.. even though Maggie was 'mowing' the yard that weekend. They didn't care and neither did Maggie!! 

We've also started school work about 2 weeks ago now. We're starting slow with just Math and now one day of the reading program. The kids are enjoying it so far and L is pretty impressed that he will be reading before the baby comes. I'm having fun with R doing 'school' with her while the other kids do school. One day R's "school' was learning how to draw a happy face. She was totally impressed!! She was also the 1st one to the door to show Papa her 'school' that evening :) It's the little things that count!

Now that we are getting some sunshine we're going to be spending some time out and about having fun in it! 

Broilers are done for the year, pigs have a couple of weeks before farrowing, work on the house is coming along and Maggie is pretty happy with the abundance of grass this year. The beans and peas in the garden are flowering and the corn is tasseling. The tomatoes in the greenhouse are surprising me with their growth.. though the cukes, and zucchini  are not doing well at all. Laundry is finally actually drying on the line (its even under a roof!!) without taking 2+ days to do so!! And other then a royally needed dusting from our latest project the house is looking pretty good. Papa is back to work and we are getting used to the longer, odder, hours and odd days off again. Baby G is growing and making herself known in the normal belly stretching/bouncing way. All and All

  Life is Looking Pretty Good!! :) 

Weston and Baby J!! Two peas in a Pod!!

Beautiful Ladies, cute kids :) 

Baby J was REALLY unsure about Weston sharing and wouldn't even touch his own food until J gave him a bite and then they shoved it in by the fist fulls. 

Weston, such a little camera ham!! 

But it was MY zebra!! Note the second zebra behind Weston's arm. They were 'sharing' and doing pretty good!! 

Weston is almost a full month, or was it just over a month?, older then Baby J and the two of them have great fun together. His Mom Rita, Mrs B and I had been getting together for girls nights for the several months both Mrs. B and Rita are in town. Both couples are away for months of the year guiding for game up in the North so it's feast and famine. We also try to get together during the daytime so the kids can play. On this day I made mac and cheese with sausage and corn in it and the two little boys 'shared' off  Baby J's tray.... even though Weston had just eaten a bowl full!! I told Rita to bring him over anytime if she needed to fatten him up!  She told me she's never seen him eat so much!!

Driveway Hockey!!

Papa and the kids played some hockey this early summer.. they had a BLAST!! They had to do it right in the middle of the driveway as it was the only area that did NOT have puddles. Yes the girls are wearing sweaters!

Baby J is ONE!!!

It truly is amazing how fast they grow up :) Our little one year old all decked out in Summer gear for our non summer weather.. that's what happens when your older brother (L) picks your clothes.. 'because I LIKE muscle shirts!!' 

The older 4 helped make his birthday cake and cupcakes while he looks on. J is holding the recipe which he read out for me as we measured and mixed. He was officially in charge of making sure we did not forget anything :) 

The day of the PARTY!!! He loved his blue balloons :)  

Papa and Baby J opening the gifts from us and the kids. His little buddy Weston looking on! 

 Papa, Baby J, Weston and cousin KC checking out the gifts. 

The Tradition!! Papa and I started it when J was little when we blew out his 1st birthday candle. J got to blow out L's candle, L blew out E's, E blew out R's and R got to blow out Baby J's. She did it so fast we almost missed it!!

She did stick around to watch him taste his cake!! YUM!!

The cake has been completely inspected, tasted from all areas, mashed, squished, and battered. LOL. There were 3 little chocolate eggs on the top and I think he checked the whole cake over to make sure he got every egg!!Thanks Grandma for getting the smile out of him!! 

Baby J watching Weston play with a new toy! Weston and Baby J enjoy 'sharing' off Baby J's tray and competing to see who can eat the most the fastest!! 

We had a great party!! 

Pictures of The Newest Little Miss G.

Head shot.She's cute isn't she?? She really didn't hold still well and all the pictures came out a bit blurry! 

I love how you can see the spine, head and leg bones in this one..She's turned sideways curled up in a ball.

 She looks like she has really long feet!!!

We also got a picture the tech called "Daddy's Proof' it was the same tech as last time and she remembered us. Last time the 'Daddy's Proof' picture was to prove that he was right.. this time to prove that he was wrong :) Sorry it took so long I had to figure out how to scan on to the laptop!! We got a couple more pictures, one of just one foot and another one of her head.. more blurry then this one. But these are the best of them :) Enjoy :) 

Gearing Up For School :)

For the last little bit we've been getting ready to start school. Sounds a bit early doesn't it??  I want to get the 3 month reading program done before our newest little Miss gets here in Nov so we're starting early. Yet another reason to love homeschooling :)

We have a old dresser in our dining room/living area that is our School Dresser. We also have some stuff in a 3 drawered orange walmart plastic 'thing' for lack of the correct name for it. It has deep drawers and can hold a lot of stuff!! We call it the 'orange thing.' Anyway, the other day we took EVERYTHING out of both the dresser and the orange thing put it all on the table, sorted through it, threw some of it out, re organized it, added to it and put it all back in. Sounds confusing.. it was. :) We did it with organization and ease of use in mind, placing tape 'nametags' on several drawers so no one gets too confused or forgets where things go.

The orange thing now holds a drawer for CRAFTS which is not all our craft stuff but whatever we use on a weekly/daily bases. It also has a COLORING drawer which holds just coloring books, crayons ect. The last, top, drawer is a drawer for me called EXTRA's. It holds things like flashcards, booklets, counters, ect. It will also hold my schedule book and everything else I need close at hand.

The Dresser has a drawer for each of these : J's grade 2 math marking paces,  books, the reading program, J, L and E. In that order. E can open the bottom drawer but not the other two so it made sense to put hers on the bottom. The kids drawers have all their paces for the whole year in them. That's a LOT of paces!! E was VERY excited to find that some of hers were PURPLE.. :) Word building :) All three of the school aged children did notice that R did not have a drawer and ALL THREE of them thought that wasn't fair. SO I'm going to get a R tote and put all her 'to do' stuff in it. She'll want to be at the table with the others if Baby J isn't up and so I'm going to make her up some fun stuff to do while the others work on paces.

Last year I kept all J's finished work in a medium sized red and clear tote that sits on top of the orange thing. I'm not too sure what I'm going to do this year. I might use the same tote or a slightly larger one and then make dividers in it, top to bottom, and each of them will have a section?? Or something... I'll probably figure it out before too long.

Then today I REALLY NEEDED to get some sort of a chart, schedule ect written up. Now that Papa is back at work it's time to get everyone ready for a scheduled day setting before we start school full time.. which may be as early as next week.. or maybe the week after.. we do still have chickens to butcher. Oh and no worries we'll still have TONS of time for summer activities as 'school' will only take a couple of hours every morning we'll still have our afternoons and 'PRO D' type days. Anyway I went online this morning after writing a very rough draft of what I was looking for and I found it on here... www.dltk-cards.com  
Very cool website with a very elastic chore chart that you can retro fit into just about anything. I made Morning Chore, Afternoon Chore, Daily Chore, School Chart (which I'm not sure I'm going to use) Weekly Chore charts as well as a blank time frame fill in chart that I'm going to use for a weekly 'thing' chart. You know like Mondays, Wednesdays and Fridays we'll do a extra 1/2 hour of P.E or lego or something and Tuesdays and Wednesdays we bake cookies.. Those are just examples but I find it's really helpful to write this kind of stuff down as I have a bit of pregnancy induced sieve brain.  Each chart has an area to check off though I think we are just going to use them as reminders. Now I make a list every morning and it's always got the same stuff on it.. or very close anyway, these charts will just help everyone know what we're doing and give us some structure on when and what. I'm going to tape them to the wall and use them as references.. if we start having trouble we'll try making up new ones every week and marking them off... but that sounds like a lot of paper to me. I may get them laminated and just use a washable marker if it comes to that.

file:///C:/Documents%20and%20Settings/user/Desktop/Unused/Morning%20Chores%20chart.htm This link SHOULD take you to one of the charts I made up this morning. I've already added bread to the bottom of the chart..  If I find I have too many changes I can always go make a new chart SUPER easy :)

Papa's sister Auntie R said she'd see if she can figure out some kind of a PE program for the kids so that's another thing off my lap :) Some sort of endurance building running/biking/stretching/strength building umm.. Chart.. so I don't have to figure it out day by day :) Thanks R!!

So now the only thing, that I can think of at the moment, we need to do before we start school is find the CD with all the ABC's songs on it. I apparently have the songs saved on our external hard drive we use to back everything up if I can't find the CD. Normally I would just go get them off the computer but our main computer took a deadly nose dive awhile ago so we are only using the laptop.  I also haven't checked my main teaching books for the course and it might be stuck in one of them. Hopefully I'll find it somewhere as it belongs to the school :) I know it's around here somewhere as I clearly recall getting it back from Mrs. T. I probably put it some where 'safe.' Oh dear!!

Separating the Cream :)

We bought this cream separator several years ago and because we've been low on butter for months now Papa dragged it into the house and set it up. I've had VERY little to do with one ever. In fact the only time I'd ever seen one work before was watching Grandma Griggs use hers the 1st couple of years we were married.. I'd never used it or cleaned it or anything. So this was Papa's baby!! lol. The 1st night he got quite a bit of cream with minimal mess. COOL!! Here he is, above, working the machine. From what I understood, you put the warm milk in the top open part and crank the handle and cream comes into the white bucket and milk into the metal milking bucket. Papa made that handle MOVE!! The cream was SO thick it took FOREVER to get to the end of the spout, never mind fill the bucket (which is about how much cream I would have gotten from 3 almost 4 gallons if I'd hand skimmed it. ) We got half a bucket full... 

And the next morning it was HARD. Hmmm.... somethings wrong here?? LOL.

So the next night we tried it again... still hard cream the next morning and not super lots of it. Now two things started running through my head.. our cow is really weird with her cream.. or we're doing something wrong! I figured it was probably the second one.. how strange could Maggie be?? 

So Papa started asking around. My uncle thought he was doing everything right as long as he put it together right. So we checked the system.. changed one little thing.. nope the cream is still sparse and SOLID the next morning. Then we happened to go to my folks and Papa and I were talking about it there and my Dad pipes up and says 'Your going to fast! Slow that thing down and it'll work a lot better.. there should be a bell that tells you how fast to go.' There is no bell. BUT bonus we now know what is up!! So Papa goes SLOW. We get LOTS of cream.. and lots of milk in the cream. So he speeds up just a bit. Now we can SEE the line of milk and cream coming out of the cream trough!! So he speeds up until it's just cream!! YEAH!!!

I have to admit though I'd rather skim off the cream later when the milk is cool.. lol. I only washed the machine once and that's not why.. what a MESS!! Go to fast and cream and milk squirt out holes everywhere!! Papa, after several weeks, is finally getting the hang of the thing and he's the only one who uses it. 

 The milking area all cleaned up! Under the table you can see Papa's carboy of beer waiting to be kegged. That metal tall thing is a keg but it's broken or something so he's only using one at the moment :) The clear box of colored things is the bath toy box.. when the kids get an inch to have a bath they get one in that big sink!! 

A Tired Monkey.

He was naked because he kept getting his clothes wrapped around his feet when he tried to walk across the floor and it was nice out so nice and warm in the house. Papa snapped this picture just before he put him to bed. Walking really is hard work!! Even in his sleep he DID not want to give up his toys :)