Back in the grind...

I've been busy getting Christmas gifts made...making gifts, sewing, and thinking about our blessings really lightens my heart. 

We made it a whole year without buying meat (other than the exceptions:  chicken tenders for the kids' birthdays, beef [because we don't have enough room to grow beef cattle], and the "country style" pork ribs.  Other than those exceptions, we made it through 12 months growing our own or using what we'd preserved!

Now that year is over and I've been taking advantage of all the sales!   Turkeys are on sale for .29/pound locally.  Our home grown turkeys cost about $2900 each.  At this point, I don't care what kind of turkey it is, it is meat that will feed my family for the next year.  I've got 8 in the freezer so far.

Pork butt roast is on sale as well.  Pork butt is actually cut from the shoulder, not from the...ham.  These are .99/pound.  I bought nearly 40 pounds for sausaging.  This leaves our home grown pork for chops, ribs, BACON, and loin.  In this case it's not the low cost of the meat (we grow it ourselves for about the same cost), but the fact that our home grown pork is so good, I hate to turn any of it into sausage.

Out in the milkroom we found out we had a mouse.

And we cleaned out this horrendous kid barn.  ICK

I'll be back to normal soon.  Whatever THAT is!

I Lost My Little Princess Today....

We always called her the "Beautiful Princess"....much like you would call a Great Dane "Tiny".  She was full of...fire and opinion....and by golly she was right.  If you don't believe it, just watch her stomp her feet and bark in protest.  She was an itty bitty bit of ferocious and atrocious.  Her feet never touched the ground.  She looked from above at her "peasants"....with a caring eye and barking commands at us mere servants. 

She had a back injury a few years ago that left her paralyzed from the shoulders down.  With us working her legs and a number of other techniques, she regained use of her back legs, her bladder, and her bowels.  She inspired me to start a group for folks that have small animals that are paralyzed.  Her tail never again curled over her back...but she still watched over her domain with a kindness and concern that any good Princess would have.

She had a stroke on our bed this afternoon.  The vet didn't call it a stroke...but called it a "major neurological event". 

I held her in my arms as she took her last breath.  There is no way to explain the impact this little dog made in my life.  I will miss her....forever.

Apricot Update and Sleepy Turkey

The apricots have dried beautifully, and I've done 6 cans now.  I hope to get back to the store to get another 6 cans or so.  These are great snacks plus they'll be great for holiday baking.

Late last night I had to go out to the milk room for some paperwork, and look what I found on the gatepost!

Rex was snoozing away.....I guess he can rest easy knowing he's not on the menu for Thanksgiving!

Experiment in Drying Apricots

Our local Kroger has their canned fruit on sale this week.  I am trying an experiment.  We love dried apricots, and use a lot of them over the holidays....so I bought a few cans of canned apricots and am trying a drying experiment!

First I drained the fruit completely....

With the help of my faithful assistant of course....I don't know why Gracie felt like she had to help me....

I sprayed the tray with no-stick spray....just as I do anytime I'm drying fruit....

And we'll know in a few hours how it works!  There were 13 apricot halves in the can...not bad.  I got them for 50 cents a can!

First Frost of 2010 Tonight!

They've been saying it all week....and tonight it's really supposed to happen!  Today I'll be putting out bedding hay, picking peppers, pruning herbs, and putting a heat lamp on the chicks to get ready for the first frost of the year.