Category: Around the Homestead

Just found out our credit card number has been used twice and it wasn’t by us.  My dh has managed to contact pretty much everyone necessary (credit card company, both companies where the charges were made, etc.).  I just finished getting my credit report and will attempt to retrieve his.  What an absolute mess!  The damages so far have only been around $100 which the credit card company immediately refunded so we are thankful it wasn’t more.  We are now strongly questioning the use of credit cards.  It is soooo convenient for gas purchases because we both commute and have to fill up once or twice a week.  However, I’m wondering if we couldn’t try for three months to not use our credit cards and see how it goes.  For one, it would make any fraudulent activity that much more noticeable since we should have any activity on the cards.  Don’t know that it will go over with my dh, but it’s something to consider.

We are a day behind on our menu because my mom cooked us dinner Tuesday evening.  So, last night we had scrambled eggs, msg-free sausage, hash browns, and toast.  The hash browns were an experiment which turned out nicely.  I ran two HUGE potatoes through my food processor, skins and all.  Fried them in a pan with olive oil and seasoned them with Lawry’s, onion, and pepper.  They were really good!

Tonight and tomorrow we are supposed to go work on my Dad’s fencing.  Hopefully we will have it up by Friday evening so we can dedicate Saturday to our homestead.  Sunday we are shearing and worming sheep at Dad’s (weather permitting).  Just another weekend I’m not looking forward to, but it will be so nice once it’s all done.

I told my husband last night I was homesick from not being home enough.  He didn’t really say anything, but it’s true.  I want to be home getting everything put back together after months of neglect.  We have dedicated the past few months to helping my parents since dad broke his ankle, and our little homestead is starting to really suffer.  I think our dogs are even feeling the strain.  We have company coming at the end of the month (FIL and Step-MIL), so I may have to take a day off to get it presentable.  Wish me luck!

Have a great weekend!

We brought our sheep in for the first time since they went out to pasture this year.  We nearly scared them to death walking up on them.  First they ran to the opposite side of the pasture.  Once we got them going in the right direction they ran all the way to the lot.  Poor things were about to die when they got there.  The night before Hank (the llama) led them in.  Hope he can make a habit of that : )

Mom cooked dinner for everyone last night, steaks (she even made me a special cornish hen because she knows I’m not a steak eater).  Grandma came down for dinner also.  It was really nice!  Got to play with our little lamb, CN, for a little bit before we left.  She is so sweet!  You can’t talk very loud when you are outside or she will climb through the gate and come charging at you.

Dh and I had a nice time visiting last night when we got home.  All the chores were done, no dinner to clean up after, no tv, just him and I and our two dogs, Ash and Koal, hanging out.  They loved it too!

Tonight is bath night for the mutts.  Pretty much a side show at the circus.  Ash pants so hard you think her eyes are going to pop out of her skull and Koal sounds like a caged monkey.  If anyone has ever heard a Chow “bark” that’s what the little guy sounds like.  He also unloads 90% of his fur at bath time because it makes him such a nervous wreck.  Can’t wait!

Have a great Wednesday!

We have two dogs who we allow in our house.  One is 40 lbs. and the other is nearly 60 lbs.  I know some of you are probably gasping in horror, however, we had the dogs in Alabama and didn’t feel comfortable leaving them outside all the time.  What’s the point of having them if you never see them or they are cooped up in a dog run every day of their life.  I’m climbing down from my soapbox now.~Smile

Anyway, the carpets are needing a thorough cleaning, I was gifted some money for helping Mom and Dad when Dad broke his ankle, and I have chosen to purchase a steam cleaner with the money.  I just wondered if anyone had any suggestions on what to get (i.e. brand, type of spin on the brissels, heated water, etc.).  I’m mainly looking at Bissel and Hoover because that is what the majority of the stores carry.  There is a huge difference in price, but they all seem fairly alike.  Just thought I would see if anyone has a suggestion.  Also, if any of you have pets in the house and would like something safe and effective for spot treating or all over carpet cleaning I highly recommend Nature’s Miracle.  It is an all natural line of pet products and worked great when we were housebreaking our little darlings.

My mom and I are planning a long overdue shopping adventure next Friday, so I am gathering information and making a list of all the things we need.  The closest city is 50 miles away and because my husband drives there everyday we rarely go there when he is off work.  We will be going to Sam’s on our outing.  This will be our major grocery shopping for the season.  We will try to live off the garden as much as possible, but do need to stock up on paper products, coffee, etc.  I’m also looking for some containers to store bulk food in.  Any suggestions?

One more thing, I am trying to order kefir grains today.  Does anyone have a place they use and could recommend?

Thanks for all your help.  Have a wonderful weekend.

When I got to Mom and Dad’s my dh had pretty much all of the chores done.  Yea!  They offered to make us dinner because my sweet aunt from North Carolina had sent us a ton of food via Honeybaked Ham so we didn’t have to cook while Dad was hurt.  So, we went home to do some chores.  We are supplementing one of our triplet babies with a bottle, we are milking out and drying off a ewe, and had to feed and water before heading back down for dinner. 

My aunt and cousins were out last night.  My Grandma was put in the hospital yesterday.  She has pancreatitis, so they are battle it again.  Please pray for her.  She gets so down when she has to stay in the hospital (as this has happened a few times before).  She’s a social butterfly and it’s such a disappointment to her to have to miss out on bridge, bowling, and all her social gatherings.  Hopefully it’s a speedy recovering this time around.  I was going to run to the bookstore near where I work over lunch today to get her a book.  If anyone has any suggestions.  I was thinking just a “feel good” type book like Chicken Soup for the ….Soul or something uplifting.  Thank you in advance.

Today is haircut day for dh (it’s been 9 mos. since his last haircut and he’s looking like a wild man), so he is going to be late.  That leaves me to do chores at Mom and Dad’s.  Yuck!  Oh well, he has taken care of them the past two days.  It’s probably time for me to take my turn.

Tonight we are having scrambled eggs with farm raised eggs, msg free sausage, and toast from homemade bread.  I love it!  I love eating foods I know are healthy for me and know what has gone into them.  I had totally planned to make kefir smoothies for Randy and I for breakfast, but just didn’t have the time.  Maybe tomorrow!  Dh had an upset stomache this morning so I probably should have made the time to make one for him.  He seems to like taking apple cider vinegar for stomache ailments ever since I recommended he try it, so hopefully it helped him this morning also.

Have a wonderful Wednesday!  My week is almost over.  Yippee!

I always love the mornings, but today the weather is absolutely beautiful.  We are on the verge of rain and possibly some thunderstorms.  So it’s damp and warm outside.  It reminds me of being back in Alabama.  Because of the possibilty of bad weather we kept all our sheep locked in the building since they are sheared and so if any of them decide to go into labor they won’t be have new babies in the rain.  Hank (our llama) wouldn’t go into the building, so hopefully he uses his small building if the weather gets too bad.  He tends to just stand out in the nastiest of weather and take it.

We have one set of triplets, so I tried them all on a bottle.  Once the little boy got the hang of it he drank like he hadn’t eaten in days.  I intend to supplement him every evening from here on out.  We are having a very high percentage of babies and are looking to have a profitable year in terms of sheep (and since it’s my ticket to being a work-at-home-wife), so I want to strive to do as well as possible.  My little brain was punchin numbers and brain storming off and on all day yesterday trying to devise and rework our existing plan.  I can’t wait to be home!

I do have a question.  Does anyone own or has anyone tried using a walk behind tractor?  I read about them on Mother Earth News.  The brands they advertise were BCS and Dr. Field.  They have ALL sorts of attachments and look like something that might be worth checking into.  We have looked at small tractors and implements, and I just don’t feel like it’s within our reach at this time.  Plus my Dad has two tractors he is more than willing to let us borrow at a moments notice.  Just thought I would see if anyone had an opinion on them.  Thanks!

Have a great Tuesday!

Our weekend was filled with rain, snow (approx. 4 inches), and cold weather.  Now it is over, we’ve picked up the pieces, and we are hoping for springtime weather.  Dad is up on crutches and even able to drive the car and 4-wheeler.  It is soooo nice to have mobile again. 

We tended to chores at Mom and Dad’s as usual.  Some of the sheep were let out to pasture so it was a chore getting mamas and babies in, but eventually they caught on to the idea.  We didn’t get home until after 8:00 and still had a ewe we needed to tend to.  She had been in labor since 5:00 with no progress, so let the fun begin.  I went to pull the lamb and made some progress.  Dh was getting impatient and insisted he try (I was so determined to pull it myself).  It’s a good thing I gave up the fight it took both of us pulling and mama pushing to get the little (not-so-little) guy out into the big world.  He is doing well although a bit of a crier.  Usually babies cry when they are hungry, but not the case.  He’s just a bit of a baby : )     It’s a very adrenaline pumping experience to pull a lamb, but when you step back, take a deep breath, and see that little creature staggering to it’s feet it is all worth it.  Texels are GREAT mamas!  I can’t say enough about the way they mother their babies.  I love to watch them!  Katahdins are the same way at dd’s.  They love those babies so much.

My cousin, his wife, and their son came over to Mom and Dad’s last night.  He brought over lots of bales of alfalfa for our sheep and dd’s.  It was so nice of him to haul them over on his semi so we didn’t have to make multiple trips with the truck and trailer.  His wife wants a bottle lamb really bad, but my cousin is not going for it.  Their son isn’t old enough to take care of it himself, and Cris is afraid he will end up with one more to-do on their farm.~Smile. 

We tried goat’s milk for the first time.  We are really struggling with it.  I want to like it so much, but both of us are having a really hard time.  I am really not comfortable with the idea of owning a Jersey (although I love them) feed, transportation if hauling is required,  and their size for handling (in comparison to sheep and goats) worries me.  So, we are still toying with the idea.  I thought maybe we could use the goat’s milk to make soap, ice cream, kefir, cooking, etc and still go to the dairy near our house for cow’s milk to use for drinking and for cream to make cream cheese and butter. 

My boss, who led me to believe it was not a good time for me to take time off  (even though my dd broke his ankle and needs some extra help right now) took another day off work.  That makes two days off for him since he told me I couldn’t take any time off work last Tuesday.  Dh is really upset.  He even mentioned selling our only reliable mode of transportation so we could afford for me to stay home and tend to the house, animals, and him.  It’s ironic as I was thinking the same thing after I left the family’s house wear we got the goat’s milk.  They are a beautiful, large family (Possibly Amish?  I hate to just assume, but they are very much homesteaders to say the least).  I am just intrigued by their way of life.  Although my husband and I will probably never revert as far back as horse drawn buggies.  I would like to start back peddling in our way of life and getting out of debt and no longer financing anything is our first BIG step. 

That is just a summary of the last couple of days at our house.  Dh is requesting I take a day off work this week to catch up.  I think he is noticing our barren fridge and the fact we have eaten cold sandwiches for dinner one too many times and thinking a day off would do us both some good.~Smile.  After getting to bed late, getting up last night at 1:15 with a crying baby lamb, and up again for work at 4:00 a day off doesn’t sound too bad.

Have a great week!