Menu Plan Monday / recipe

Menu Plan Monday – New for Me!

Okay, here’s a new thing for me. I’m going to try being a part of Menu Plan Monday, a weekly menu plan share hosted by Laura over at I’m An Organizing Junkie. The banner above is linked to her awesome site. I’m not sure exactly what our week will be like since we’ve got hay to bale. Here’s my plan: Monday Snack Peaches and yogurt Supper Ham Steaks Red Skinned Garlic Mashed Potatoes Chicken Gravy Tuesday Breakfast Rhubarb Muffins Milk Lunch Leftover Mashed Potatoes Hot Dogs Peaches and yogurt Snack Homemade Granola Bar Supper Homemade Chicken Nuggets Boxed Mac N’ Cheese Wednesday Breakfast Rhubarb Muffins Milk Lunch PBJ Pretzels Canned corn Snack Homemade Granola Bar Supper Parmesan Crusted Tilapia Roasted Potatoes Thursday Breakfast Rhubarb Muffins Milk Lunch PBJ or Leftover Tilapia Pretzels Canned corn Snack Homemade Granola Bar Supper Spaghetti New Cheese bread recipe Friday Breakfast Rhubarb Muffins Milk Lunch PBJ Pretzels Canned corn Snack Homemade Granola Bar Supper Homemade Pizza Homemade Breadsticks

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cattle panel chicken shelter / chickens / colored rangers / eggmobile / heritage breeds / turkeys

Poultry Update – Cattle Panel Shelter – Pics

Well, the eggmobile sits empty. Part of the reason we finished it when we did was because the rooster was getting so mean I could hardly get the eggs anymore. Once the birds were out on pasture I could easily gather them at least once a day. Sadly, the hens must have learned to eat their eggs during that week when I wasn’t collecting them very often. I first culled the rooster and one hen that I suspected as being the culprit. Unfortunately, the eating continued and we were forced to cull the remaining 5 hens. I am very glad that this happened with such a small flock and not the large one that I hope to have in the future. Lesson learned here: no matter what – get those eggs!! So, now we have around 121 chickens and no eggs! I haven’t decided yet if I’m going to buy a few layers to get us by or just get our eggs from a friend for now. If I bring in new layers now I’ll have to mix them with the heritage breed flock when they start laying. If I don’t get any now then I’ll have to stop trying

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twitter

Are You A Twit?

LoL, I just had to pose my question like that. If you’ve listened to the Dave Ramsey show lately you’ll get it. Anyway, what I mean to say is “Do you Twitter?” or Tweet or whatever? I decided that I would not get in to that because Lord knows I don’t need another reason to sit in front of this blasted computer. However, since I’m staying up later for summer I find myself craving communication. Blogging is great but it doesn’t really supply an immediate fix like AIM used to do back when I used that. Then I think how nerdy I would sound, “Oh yeah, I heard on Twitter the other day that blah blah blah”. I already mention my blog way too much in real life. “Seriously, I found the best recipe on this woman’s site that I blog with…” or… “Well, I don’t care if you think eggmobiles are weird. Everyone that I blog with thought it was a great idea!” or… “Honey, look what so-and-so’s husband built (showing him pics on blog). Do you think you could build one of those for me?” or… “Gosh, do you have your pumpkins planted yet? Okay good, neither do

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dogs / Git 'Er Done 2009 / sewing

Gone To The Dogs

I started working on curtains for the living room last night. I left the fabric all spread out after getting sidetracked with the frost warning. This morning I found this… Which quickly turned in to a belly up “I’m sorry Mom but I’m wagging my tail and I’m cute” pose… I think it is safe to say that this project has officially gone to the dogs! If you’ve been around here long you know this is nothing compared to the havoc our dogs can create. What do your dogs (or cats) do to push your buttons!?

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broccoli / canning / planting / recipe / rhubarb / tomatoes

Canning Rhubarb, and more planting

I’m trying a new theory. Instead of eating within the seasons, how about preserving each season so I can have it all year long. Case in point: last year I made the heck out of rhubarb muffins for a couple months. I’ve been craving them for about 10 months now. I like to can as much as possible to save freezer space for meat so I thought I’d try canning rhubarb. It was the easiest canning experience ever!! I had a bag of rhubarb that must have weighed 10 pounds. I could have run it through the food processor like I sometimes do but cut it up by hand instead. It is easier to work with and looks nicer. Plus, I didn’t feel good and sitting in front of the TV with the cutting board for 2 hours made me feel like I accomplished something. Anyway, I chopped it in small 1/2-1 inch pieces. Add 2-4 cups of sugar to each 16 cups of rhubarb. I used only 2 cups because I prefer a very light syrup. Toss together in a big bowl and let sit for at least a few hours. The natural juices will seep out and create

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asparagus / berries / corn / eggplant / fruit trees / garden / garlic / growing challenge / planting / potatoes / rhubarb / squash / sunflower seeds / tomatoes / updates / watermelon / zucchini

Growing Challenge Check-In: Planting

My garden isn’t small but I didn’t have any room to plant corn. Our neighbor Jeff was kind enough to come by with his tractor and rototiller and make the above long strip of garden for me. It is between the pasture fence and the road. We had to put the fence far off the road to make room for snow in the winter but can still use the space all summer. I planted 5 different kinds of corn the first day. I still had some room so in went 2 packets of sunflowers, hopefully to use in granola bars this fall. Well, there was still a ton of room left so I just kept planting. All the peas and beans went in. Then watermelon, zucchini, and squash. There is still room so I added eggplant seeds and may stick in some eggplant seedlings to fill it up. I’m trying to plant less valuable crops there since I wouldn’t put it past some idiot to drive through it or pick from it. The tomatoes and other crops will stay in the main garden. Plus, now there is room in the main garden for pumpkins!! Here’s the complete running list, new

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family / garden / Git 'Er Done 2009 / sewing

Sewing with Mom

My Mom was nice enough to drive out for a visit on Sunday. We spent the day sewing a new scrub top for me. I bought the pattern and the fabric a while ago but wasn’t sure how to cut out the pieces. I have made curtains and even pajamas but this top was by far the hardest thing yet. My Mom is an excellent seamstress. She even made my bridesmaids’ dresses for the wedding so I knew this top would be a breeze for her. It turned out pretty good. Thanks Mom! Today is the start of my new work schedule. I only have to work Tuesday – Friday this summer. Yay! That means more free time for all the projects around here. I wanted to spend this first day off out in the garden finishing the planting (expect an update soon). However, Mother Nature decided rain/storms sounded good today. I actually planned ahead and went to Jo-Ann Fabrics yesterday to stock up on supplies for today. On the agenda: cut out a second scrub top and work on curtains for the living room. Those who follow the Git ‘Er Done posts will appreciate that once curtains are done

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questions

What Do You Want To Know?

I have quite a few future posts forming in my head, half of which I’ll probably forget before they are ever typed out. However, I feel like I’m posting about a lot of the same topics lately, especially now that spring is here and I have so many updates about the garden and the animals. Is there a post I promised to write that I’ve forgotten? Is there a question you’d like to ask? Something I do or write about that you want to know more about? Are you sick of hearing about any certain topic? Please don’t hesitate. I’d really love to hear your thoughts. I know there are at least a few lurkers out there as well. Now’s your time! I’m going to call it a night because I just misspelled hear here and there their. Have a good one!

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building / cattle panel chicken shelter / chickens / eggmobile

Cattle Panel Chicken Shelter: Part 1

This have been a bit crazy around here lately and I plan to update y’all soon. In the meantime I want to share how we’re building another great (hopefully) chicken shelter. I used treated 2″x4″ lumber for the base. The two side boards are 10′ long and the three in the middle are 12′ long. Place the 10′ boards on the outside on the 12′ boards as shown. You’ll need 3 sheets of 4’x8′ treated plywood to make the floor. There are plenty of good designs out there for shelters without floors. I have too much money and time invested in our broilers to risk losing them to predators or flooding, thus I want a floor. With the 2″x4″s set up the way I have them the plywood will not fit perfectly. I did this on purpose to provide as much floor space as possible. Position the plywood in from the edges the width of the 2″x4″. There may still be a small gap but the sides angle in enough that I don’t think it will cause any problems. Or, if you’d prefer, you can frame it to fit exactly. Here you can see the cattle panels on and the

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