Busy, Busy

We have been busy with milking, wood gathering, chick care, schooling, and on and on and on.  Although life has taken on a hectic pace that is common this time of year, it is also rewarding seeing things happening.  I have a few seeds planted and am doing container gardening this year.  We will probably be doing container gardening next year as well. 

We've been butchering the roosters quite a bit.  It is good eating meat that did not come from a grocery store.  Although it happened comparatively little, it did happen more than I liked.  We were able to get creative more through offers from other people who needed help butchering than anything else.  "If you help up butcher this deer, we'll share the meat with you."  This was deer that was given to them from someone else who hunted it and field dressed it, but had no room in his freezer from other deer he hunted.  We got deer meat just by helping with butchering.  Same thing with pig we had.  We helped butcher and some of the meat was shared.  And the same with turkey.  So, grocery store meat was relatively little.  But, I still had to buy it.  There is a huge difference in taste.

We had fresh chicken, potatoes, and carrots for dinner.  The chicken we had tonight has flavor in the meat.  The chicken from a grocery store is flavorless.  People don't believe me when I try to explain it.  But, once they've had it, they can taste the difference.

What is funny is Hannah saying she did not like the carrots we had.  I asked her why.  "Because they are not raw."  She's spoiled.  She likes her vegetables raw.  I'm the same way.  My children know what store bought chips are and call them "bag chips."  When they want "Potato chips" they are wanting me to slice up a raw potato and give it to them.  (Yes, they are strange.)

We've worked out the juvenile exchange program.  R's children will be dropped off Friday and her and her husband will come back Saturday afternoon to pick them up.  They will help with shoeing Casy and anything else we might need help with.  Either next week or the week after, I will be dropping off my children on Friday and pick them up Saturday afternoon and help her with her stuff and Husband will help her husband with stuff.  So, next Friday, I will have a just turned 1 year old, almost 2 year old, 3 year old, 4 year old, 6 year old, and 8 year old in this house.  G, G, B, G, G, B.  I'm already tired just thinking about it.

My herbs came in.  I ordered lavender powder, echinacea powder, and ginger powder.  A pound of each.  A friend of mine (actually a couple friends of mine) have capsule making things and I get to learn how to make these into capsules.

We got a phone call today.  A friend of ours quit the volunteer fire department.  Apparently, a couple of dingbat fire fighters have a habit of showing up impaired at fires.  If you are fighting a fire, the last thing you want is the person on your back supporting you being drunk.  So, he quit.  It has happened multiple times and he's sick of it.  I don't blame him.

Tomorrow's agenda:  Butcher two roosters, plant more seeds, check Charlie's schoolwork from today, and get them working on tomorrow's work.  I also am going to make chicken soup from tonight's left-overs and make more bread.  (My children complain from lack of bread.)

The basic flow for now has been me taking care of the inside and Husband taking care of the outside.  Soon, he is going to collapse from doing too much so I need to take over the outside a bit at a time.  I know once some stuff is done things will be easier on him (and me) but for right now things are still difficult at times.  But we knew that the first five years would be the hardest.  It is going, though, and it is going well.  His wrist is still bothering him (I still think it is broken) and he is having to work around that.  That does not make things easier.

Some other tid bits going on here.  We found a bio-orb on the property.  We are now putting scraps in it instead of feeding it to the animals.  We have a genuine composting thing that the critters can not get into. 

I also got strawberries today.  50 plants for $30.00  She also threw in a handful of extras "in case some don't do well."  Ok.  Thank you!  I appreciate it!  She also happens to be a homeschool mom of seven!  WOW!  The children range in age from 13 years to 15 month twins.  13, 11, 7, 5, 3, and the twins.

Hannah is lowing our speech.  All of us are now having a hard time saying "animal."  We keep saying "aminal."  When trying to help her pronounce it correctly, she comes out with "aminimanamal."  We are all now saying "aminal." 

We've been discussing the addition we plan on adding.  We're going to start on it next year.  We're going to put the addition off the dining room and it will be Charlie's room.  His is first.  He needs it more.  He is growing like a weed and is quickly outgrowing his loft.  So, he gets the first addition.  We know what we want and where it's going.  It is just a matter of time and materials.  Time of which we won't have until next year.  Until then, he get to enjoy his loft and make the same complaints that I have made since the day Husband and I first lived together.  "We need more shelves for books."  Yes, he is my son.  He reads constantly.  And, I am losing battery so I must go.

Oh, but not before adding this.  When our batteries hit 11 volts, our dining room light goes out.  This doesn't happen often but every once in a while.  (Like at night and no wind blowing and we have computer, phones, etc all charging at the same time.)  And it just now happened.

Bethany:  "Why did the light go out?"
Husband:  "Why do you think?  Someone forgot to pay the electric bill."
Bethany:  "What's an electric bill?"

I had to explain that some people pay others to provide electricity for them.  It was a good laugh on our part.