October 10, 2012

Outside Temp: 40 F (there is a chance of snow or rain tonight, but it was beautiful during the day... in the mid 60's.  )

What I cooked today:
Mexican Lasagna: Today is the 4th day in a row that I've stuck to my menu plan for the week, which is almost unheard of for me.  Perhaps I'm starting a new trend, which would be nice for me.  No more worries about 'what's for dinner', and only one day a week for burgers (which is scheduled for tomorrow).  Woo hoo!

Update:
Just a few thoughts on chickens.  Before we started this 'journey' with our chickens, we really had no idea what we were getting ourselves into.  And to be perfectly honest, we have totally abdicated our chicken responsibility to the Grandparents, especially Grandpa, who seems to like his new chicken hobby.

Katie, our resident 'chicken wisperer' still loves her chickens, and Sally (pictured below) is her favorite.  She has a few others that she gets along with, but I think Sally is the only one who will willingly let her just pick her up and pet her. 

This is Katie... holding Sally, which is her chicken... it's totally hers.  No question about it.

The Grandparents have some land, and the area that is near the house has about 20 acres on their side of the road (they roam about 5-8 acres around the house, but they are branching out every day).  With only 24 chickens, that means eventually they will have almost an acre per chicken, which is quite a lot of land. 

The chickens just roam around, pecking at the ground, looking for bugs or treats.  They have their chicken coop, which I will try to take pictures of tomorrow, with it's automatic door closer and nice custom made nesting boxes.  The guys are talking about insulating the coop for the winter, and maybe using heat tape to add some extra warmth. 

It's kind of fun to drive by the house, and see a bunch of chickens just roaming around the property.  I don't think I've ever imagined what free-range chickens look like, but here it is! 

August 14, 2012

Outside Temp: 67 F (and dropping.. it was in the high 80's/low 90's today, but we have an awesome storm coming through, and the temp just dropped like crazy!)
What I cooked today:
Burgers and Pasta: I actually cooked, although to be fair, I only had to work 1/2 day today.  It was so hot, I was cranky and tired when I got home, but I realized that Patrick was going to feed the kids hot dogs for dinner, so I figured I'd let him do that tomorrow...

Update:
Day 2 of training in Great Falls.  Which means for the second day in a row, I was awake and out the door by 7:15.  It's actually good practice for when school starts next week!  I still have 3 more days of training, but the first 'orientation' part is over. 

Ryan got to spend part of the day with the grandparents, trying out a new toy...

He had so much fun!!  Of course, his kite is a 'transformers' kite!

We also got our first 'blue' egg from our Aracana chickens! 

So, we got a call from Ryan's doctor, who said that his line is probably okay, and we can just keep an eye on it until we head back to Seattle in September.  We will be bringing him into Great Falls tomorrow, to get an extra stitch on his line, just to give it the extra support it might need to get it through the next 3-4 weeks.  It seems like it's holding up okay, so we'll just keep praying.

The weather front passing over the house right now is making wind gusts into the 50+ MPH range.  The kids our out front, pretending to fly around in the wind.  I'm really looking forward to the drop in temperature... it should be in the 60's tomorrow!

August 8, 2012

Outside Temp: 71 F (we had a high of 100 degrees today.  Amazingly, although it was hot and I complained, I guess I'm getting used to it.  At 4:00pm, as I tried to work, I was sticking to my clothes and it got to 88 in the house.  I'm looking forward to winter and that white stuff I'm not allowed to name.)

What I cooked today:
Eggs, eggs and more eggs: We were given a dozen eggs from our chickens from Grandma's house last night.  So, this morning, I made up fried eggs for everyone.  Katie and Connor both asked for 1 egg, then asked for a second about 10 minutes later.  After everyone was full of fried eggs, I made up 18 hard boiled eggs.  There are only about 6 left, since apparently, everyone in the house likes hard boiled eggs.  Which is good, considering how many chickens we have!

Chicken and rice: Patrick was working with his dad on the new greenhouse, so he didn't make it home for dinner until after 9.  Which means that I (very smart person that I am) didn't make dinner until he was actually through the door.  Chicken has gotten to be an easy stand-by dinner around here.

Update:
It was hot.

I tried to work. 

I got some work accomplished, but it was hard to think in the heat.

Then, around 6pm, the thunderstorm came in.  But, it didn't really cool down.  We still opened the windows.

I kicked the kids outside around 7:30, since it had cooled off enough, that it was (barely) cooler outside than inside.

Finally, around 10pm, it dropped below 80.  

I'm not looking forward to the next few days, where it should stay in the 90's.  I miss winter.

August 7, 2012

Outside Temp: 59 F (it was in the 90's again today... Ugh, it's going to be in the 90's for the rest of the week.  We're experimenting with leaving the windows open at night, but, of course, we wake up too late to close them before it starts getting hot. )
What I cooked today:
Nothing: We ate in town, and Grandma cooked some Lima beans, so I didn't cook anything!

Update:
This morning, I got to help the Judith Basin County Fair with judging of the elementary projects.  There were a few moments, when I held my tongue, because I knew that we were judging a project in which my kids participated.  It was amazing to see the wonderful projects, and I was so honored to be chosen to help judge!

I also got a chance to catch up with some people from our school, from Stanford, and meet some new friends.  We even got spoiled with lunch afterwards, which allowed all us women to chat about random topics, which is always a high point in my day!

Afterwards, Grandpa, Patrick, Connor and I went into town, to run errands.  The most important errand, was picking up Connor's new glasses!

We had a great time in town, getting school supplies, random items for Grandpa's house, and groceries. 

Afterwards, Grandma gave me a dozen eggs that our chickens have been laying.   They are getting between 2-3 eggs a day, for now.  As the chickens get older, they'll produce more eggs.  Until then, we get scrambled eggs with cheese tomorrow morning!  Woo hoo! 

July 28, 2012

Outside Temp: In Seattle, it was in the 70-80's.  At home, it was in the 90's... perhaps there's a reason we're in Seattle... Hmmm.
What I cooked today:
Nothing... Since there's no kitchen here.

Update:
Day 3 in Seattle

Today was a better day.  We got our line out (yea!) and had no problems with the surgery or the anesthesia. 

Our IV (that we placed on Thursday) is still in place and is still working (which is amazing in it's own right).  Ryan still hates having the line accessed, but since we are running fluids really slow continuously, he doesn't seem to mind too much.

I was able to get a shower, a walk, a nice pizza dinner in town and my laundry done.  Perhaps you have to do the multiple days in the hospital with an 8 year old, to appreciate how awesome each of those items are on their own.  But together?  On the same day?  Just plain awesome.

Tomorrow, we will hopefully just have a nice, relaxing day.  We are having a small problem with low blood numbers, and his electrolytes might have a problem, but I figure they can handle stuff like that.

At home, we got some great news.

Our First Egg!!

Katie went to the chicken coop today, and looked around and found this beauty!  It's a great size and it means that we will soon be having fresh eggs!  Woo hoo!

I'm just sad that I missed it.



July 10, 2012

Outside Temp 57 F (but it is about 2am, so that's not too bad.  It was in the 90's most of the day)

What I cooked today:
Scrambled Eggs: It was still cool, so I made breakfast.  Of course, Patrick and I were both too busy to actually eat breakfast, so it went to the kids.  Oh well!

Update:
We worked most of the day, so around 4-5pm, when the heat of the day was at it's hottest, we finally gave in and went out into our own personal pool in the backyard.  I got some really great pictures, but Blogger doesn't want to let me upload them.  I'll attempt to upload them tomorrow.

This evening, Grandma was kind enough to make us dinner, which was awesome, and not the least because I didn't have to cook it. 
Grandpa also got Roosting boxes in the chicken coop, so we might have eggs soon.  As far as we can tell, we have 1 rooster.  Out of our 24 chickens, we only ended up with 1 rooster.  It's possible that there is another one, but so far, only one is obvious.  However, I guess 1 is all you really need, right?

July 2, 2012

Outside Temp: 62 F (it was pretty warm today, in the high 80's... except our little field trip, where it was probably in the high 90's... uck.  I don't like the heat.  At least it cooled off nicely!)
What I cooked today:
French Toast: I spoiled the kids with breakfast.  Connor doesn't like eggs (oh, that is going to suck when we soon have more eggs than we can eat), and I didn't feel like making pancakes.  So, we ended up with french toast, which they gobbled up. 

Mexican Lasagna (with homemade salsa!): When I made this a few weeks ago, the kids complained that the store bought salsa I used was too hot and spicy.  Ah, the joys of cooking for a bunch of spoiled brats, I mean, children.  So, I found a recipe for salsa and started playing around.  I roasted an Aniheim chili (instead of a jalapeno) and mixed together onions, garlic, salt, a little sugar, canned tomatoes and about 1/4 of the chili.  Patrick wanted me to add a little cumin, and I think it added a little something.  Then, I added the lime juice and cilantro.  Awesome salsa, and not hot at all!  I used it in my mexican lasagna, and everyone said it was great!  Woo hoo!

Update:
Today, we went out to Ulm to see the 'First People's Buffalo Jump', which I think used to be called the Pishkin.  When we were kids, we heard stories about how the Native American's used to run thousands of buffalo off cliffs, and how one tribe couldn't eat it all, so it all went to waste.  At least, that was the story I was told (or at least how I remember it).
So, today, we went out to where this actually occured.  As the curator explained, it was a time before the horses and guns and wiskey made all the tribes lazy and spoiled.  And multiple tribes would come to this location to run the buffalo off the cliff, and then they would share in the food and hides.  And, he explained, it was about 150 buffalo, not thousands.  The reason they would have to kill them all was not because they were wasteful, it was because if a buffalo experienced the jump and lived to 'tell about it', the other buffalo would never fall for it again.  So, they had to kill all the survives, so no one would live to 'tell the tale'.

It was a great center and really informative.  The butte doesn't look that steep from the ground, until you get right up on it.  Yea, it's pretty steep.  And the best (or worst, if you're a buffalo) part is that you can't tell there is a drop, until you are right up on it.  It looks just like a normal rolling hill. 

The only bad part was that it was hot.  And I hate the heat.  But the kids did great and didn't start getting snippy until later in the afternoon.  I'm so glad we went, since I've been meaning to go up there, since we got here!
So, when we got home, Ryan ran out to check on the chicks, and came running back into the house, really upset.  The chickens were gone!  Oh yea, Grandpa and Allen came down while we were gone, and moved the chickens up to their new chicken coop at the Grandparents' place.  They have a ton more space and a big coop.  Of course, they weren't quite sure what to do with all that space, but I'm sure they'll get used to it!

June 27, 2012

Outside Temp: 49 F (It actually got a little chilly tonight, into the 50's.  Clear and beautiful all day, and very reasonable winds!)

What I cooked today:
Burgers and pasta: I got busy tonight and totally forgot to make dinner, until about 9:15pm, when I realized I needed to actually make dinner for the family.  I whipped up burgers quickly, and over cooked the pasta.  No problems, though, everything got gobbled up.

Update:
Ryan came home today!  Woo hoo!

I ran into Great Falls to pick him up (Grandma has been with him, while Patrick and I worked for the last few days).  It gave me a chance to go shopping, and get caught up on groceries.  Of course, I forgot my list, so I totally forgot the Calamine lotion (for our mosquito bites) and Kosher salt (because it's awesome, not because of the religion thing).  Oh well, I'll be back into town on Sunday (if not earlier)  to pick up my mom from the airport!!

Our chickens ran out of food this week.  I meant to pick up chicken feed on Saturday, when we got back from Seattle.  Actually, I meant to pick it up before we went to Seattle, but that didn't happen.  Then, Saturday got away from us, and I planned on picking up chicken feed on Monday.  But work kept me busy, so I hoped to get around to it on Tuesday.  By Tuesday evening, we still didn't have a new bag of chicken food, and their feed container (in their cage) was empty.  We gave them some grass and dandelions from the yard, and some old rice (the pre-cooked stuff that my family hates anyway). 

So, when I went into town, I stopped at Big R and got more chicken food.  I usually buy it in Geyser, and I really wanted to, but it was 11 miles in the other direction and I didn't have an excuse to go there.  I'll plan on going over there next week, and this time, I'll buy 2 40lb bags, instead of just 1.  Then, I won't run out (as quickly). 

The chickens were very happy to get food  Unfortunately, when we filled up their food, we somehow forgot to check the latch on their cage.  I sent Katie out to close the door to the shed, and she heard some rustling in the grass around the corner from the shed.  Of course, her first thought was rattlesnakes.  Until she looked, and saw 2 chickens walking around, outside their cage! The chickens are getting older, and will be able to free range soon.  But, we weren't really ready for it.  Their cage has a 2 foot high chicken wire around it, which means that even when the gate is open, they shouldn't be getting out.  Unless they were birds and birds could fly.  Hmmm, didn't really think of that one.  Of course, they couldn't get back into their cage, because the chicken wire was in the way. 

So, I had to pick them up and carry them over the threshold.  And the rooster didn't want to get picked up.  Which then involved a quite funny moment of me chasing the rooster around, and him flying away from me.  I swear, it was like a scene out of a movie.  But, in the end, I prevailed and all 24 chickens are back in their cage.

June 16, 2012

Outside Temp: 61 F (in the mid 70's today, sunny with fluffy clouds.)

What I cooked today:
Nothing, again: Having no kids at home (that eat) makes it really hard to justify cooking a meal.  I have no idea how couples with no kids deal with nightly meals for two.  I don't know how to cook that little, anyway!

Update:
So, having no kids around is really strange.  Ryan is pretty independent, and spent a lot of the day playing outside, either in the front with his sidewalk chalk, or in the back with the chickens.  Patrick worked on some projects with his dad most of the day and I worked on our 'work' project.

The big excitement for the day was my hour long visit at the post office (I gave myself an hour to chat and not feel guilty for not working) and church this evening.  I did manage to clean up the 'dog' room, which is where we had the chicks when they were little.  It still smelled like chicken poop and we still had the area set up for them.  So, I got to shovel out all the poop and pine shavings, and clear out all the random boxes in there.  It's nice, now that it's all clear and cleaned. 

The chicken coop up at the Grandparent's place is coming along nicely.  Patrick said it should be ready for the chickens soon.  I think that soon means in a week or two, but you never know. 

Ryan loves playing with them, and he's going to miss being able to just walk out the door to see them.  This evening, he went out to play with them, and pulled three of them out of the cage and put them on the ground just outside it.  They were going crazy trying to get back inside, but we have chicken wire set up so they can't get out.  Of course, that stopped them from getting back in as well.  When I asked Ryan why he pulled them out of the cage, he said, 'They are my friends.".  How do you argue with that?

We have started Ryan drinking PediaSure, to see if his gut is moving.  The story is that if he can get up to 3 cans a day, he can get off his TPN (IV).  So, today, we gave him about 1/4 of a can, 4 times.  Breakfast, Lunch, Snack and Dinner.  So, he ended up with an entire can today.  Which is awesome.  We won't know for a few weeks if he's actually digesting it and if it's working.  But, the fact that he can drink it is a great step in the right direction.  Now, we just have to remember to give it to him a few times a day.  That's going to be the hard part! 

June 4, 2012

Outside Temp: 67 F (it was a little warm today... Into the 80's.  I don't like the heat.  It makes me cranky.)

What I cooked today:
Chicken: Hehehe, yes, chicken.  Like my chicken.  Like the chicken that was alive yesterday morning.  Hehehe.  It was suggested that I try just frying it with some salt and pepper and a little flour.  I realized that every chicken dish I make is loaded with spices or seasoning.  Even my normal fried chicken has smoked paprika and buttermilk.  So, I went with simple and just fried it up.  Totally nervous.  But the consensus is that it was great.  There was no after taste (so I guess the dandelions weren't a problem) and it got all eaten up.  We saved back 2 breasts and the legs and thighs to have with the Grandparents when they get back home.  And I must say, there were something kind of cool about knowing that the chicken was on our table because of the work we did to raise it and butcher it.  I'm not really ready to plan on raising 20 of these chickens a month, but I can see doing it again. 

Update:
First off, if any of you have seen the 'severe weather and tornado warning' going on in Montana, we are fine (as of now).  I can't guarantee that it stays that way, but it looks like the storm is north of us.  As of now, we've had some wind, but no thunderstorms or rain (yet).

Katie and Allen went to Stanford today for a basketball camp.  It's 3 hours a day, Monday - Thursday.  Which means that they both had to wake up at 8am this morning and get ready.  Which also means that I had to wake up at 8am and get ready.  Ugh. 

Katie didn't sleep well last night, so she was a little grumpy today.  Hopefully, she will sleep better tonight and be happier tomorrow.  Allen realized that he hasn't been practicing basketball, and he needs to practice.  He suggested that rather than play baseball in the yard, he needs to practice shooting hoops. 

I stopped over at the Stanford Public Library this morning (while I was waiting for the kids), and I had a wonderful chat with the librarian.  She was great!  And our library is really cozy!  They even had a section for books on Montana.  I had to pick up a few of those.  Their fiction section is great and I can't imagine why I would ever buy a fiction book again.  I could be happy in there for years!  I picked up a book for Allen and another book for Connor.  Katie is still working on Goblet of Fire, and we already have Order of Phoenix.  However, I might go borrow the last 2, rather than try to find them in the boxes in the garage. 

This evening, I went to an Altar Society meeting at the church.  I'm really looking forward to seeing the Cookbook when it comes out.  And we have an Ice Cream and Pie Social in September.  That will mark our 1 year anniversary here (we arrived on the day before the Ice Cream Social last year).   I'm excited, since this year, I'll actually know (almost) everyone!  (and yes, the ice cream will be a big attraction).

June 3, 2012

Outside Temp: 57 F (I heard there might be thunderstorms, but it was clear and beautiful all day!)

What I cooked today:
Papa Murphy's Take and Bake Pizza: I went into town today, so I brought home pizza.  If we had been thinking, we would have made something else for dinner (see below), but I guess that will have to wait until tomorrow!

Update:

We did it!  I still can't believe we did it.  And I only screamed a few times.

So, as with most things that Patrick and I do, we decided around 7pm tonight that tonight was the night.  We could have waited until tomorrow, but, hey, why put it off any longer.  Lets just do it.

This is what they looked like at 7:03 this evening. 

We went back and forth on how to accomplish this.  We've talked a few times about hanging them upside down and cutting the jugular.  Then, there was the time honored classic of cutting off their heads with an ax.  Or wringing the necks, like we did last time.  Hmmm, lets just pick one.

I was smart enough to get a plastic bag to hold all the 'stuff'... you know, like stuff I didn't want to keep.  I put it inside a stock pot, since I couldn't find a garbage can, and we tend to just go with what we have.  I found a cardboard box, that I could use as my 'cutting' table.  And I sharpened a filleting knife from my kitchen.

Patrick grabbed one of the chickens (the smaller of the two, I think).  He held her in his arms until she calmed down.  Then he grabbed the neck in his hand and .... swung it around a few times.  It was a lot heavier than last time and it flapped a lot more.  And you know the saying about how they continue to twitch after they are dead?  Yes, they really, really do.  We were debating if it was really dead, so we decided to go with plan B, and cut off it's head.

So, we got a piece of 2x4 and put it on the ground, laid the flailing chicken on the board and swung the ax.  Uh, nothing.  Did you hit it hard enough?  Whack.  Still not done.  Whack.  3rd time is not the charm.  Whack.  Ok, now the head is actually off the chicken.  Of course, the eyes are still blinking and the wings are still flapping.  Ewwwwww.  Totally not right.

After a few minutes, it was finally done with it's writhing around thing, and we put it upside down in the bucket, to let the blood drain out.  As you can see, the kids were there to help.  Connor was horrified, but at the same time, he thought it was kinda cool.  Katie was a little stunned that we actually did it, even though we had warned her.  She got over it, but it was a little gruesome.  Allen thought it was awesome.

And then I got to work.  Of course, it was my job to do everything from here on out.  I decided to go with the 'skinning' it idea, rather than trying to pluck all the feathers.  Everyone warned me that the plucking thing is awful, since you have to dunk the chicken in hot, but not boiling water and get it drenched, then pull the feathers off one by one.  That just does not sound fun. 

So, I just slid my knife under the skin and proceeded to skin it.  The skin and feathers came off easily.  Since I've been octo-secting fryer chickens for a while now, I pretty much knew where the breast bones were, and how to cut around them, without cutting through the meat.  I slid the knife over the breasts and then turned it over and worked on the back.  Of course, I'd kinda forgotten about the insides, but they came back to get me as I turned the chicken back to its front. 

The intestines had poured out of the cavity and it looked like something from a horror film.  Guts and blood and liver and spleen flopping out of the chicken.  I admit, I screamed like a little girl.  Arghhh.  Aaaaaah.  Ughhhh.  Not right.  I think the kids were laughing at me (I know Allen was!) but I managed to get myself calmed down and get back to work.  The worst part was that now I had to put my hand inside and pull out all the innards.  It was still warm and gooey.  Ewwww.   And you had to make sure that you didn't cut the intestines, because you didn't want poop all over the meat.  So, I had to be careful. 

After a few minutes (about 10), I had the entire chicken skinned and eviscerated.  I cut off the feet and a little more of the neck, and it was ready to be cleaned off.

Ryan and Katie were right there, helping!

Ryan and Patrick, pouring water over the chicken to clean off the remaining blood (and grass!)

We put the cleaned off chicken in a pan and put it in the house to be further processed.  Then we started in on the second chicken.  This one went a lot easier.  Patrick wrung it's neck, and it popped with the second turn.  You could feel the neck and knew that it was done.  We cut off his neck and proceeded with the 'processing'.  I was much more prepared for the insides.  In fact, this time, I went straight for them, and pulled them out, without having them jump out at me.  I think we had the 2nd one cleaned and in the pan in about 1/2 the time!

Once inside the house, I cut up each chicken into parts.  I really don't like wings, so I just tossed them instead of trying to de-feather them or skin them.  I ended up with breasts, thighs and legs.  Before cutting, the chickens were about 4 1/2 pounds each.  I ended up with about 3 1/2 pounds of breasts and about 2 1/2 pounds of legs and thighs.

And this is what they looked like at 9:02pm... hehehe

The rest went into the stock pot!  Patrick has said that he'll stay up tonight, to keep an eye on it (since it needs about 10 hours of boiling to be ready).  Tomorrow morning, I'll put them into jars and pressure can the stock.  I'm not sure if the stock will taste different, or not.

Since we already had dinner tonight, I couldn't cook the chicken for dinner.  But you can bet that we'll be having chicken tomorrow night.  I really, really hope that they taste good.  And I hope that feeding them dandelions won't have effected the taste! 

Oh my goodness, what a day!! Amazingly, I'm not totally traumatized.  The kids were awesome.  Katie had a few tears, but handled it like a champ.  Ryan was a little upset, but got over it quickly.  Now he really wants to go fishing.  Go figure!

May 30, 2012

Outside Temp: 50 F (a little overcast and, at times, a little chilly.  But beautiful just the same. )

What I cooked today:
Chinese Chicken: I can't honestly call it Walnut Chicken anymore, since there are no walnuts and it's different.  I don't have any walnuts, or snow peas, or mushrooms.  I make the chicken similar, and toss in some frozen veggies with the sauce.  It works out well.  This time I made 3 cups of rice (instead of my normal 2 cups), and it was still all eaten up!

Update:
The neighborhood kids showed up around 10am, asking for Allen (who was still fast asleep, after finally going to bed around 3:30am... I know, I know, but it's summer vacation, and I really don't care.).  So, once he got up and had breakfast, he was out the door.  Around 11am, Connor and Kathryn headed over to the neighbor's as well.

Patrick and I had some things to do in Geyser, so the kids were on their own for a while (except Ryan, who came with us).  Not that they minded (my only rule was no kids in the house while we weren't there.)  We were gone for hours, and for some reason, I wasn't even slightly concerned.

At Geyser, Patrick was able to download a ton of things, and acted like a kid in a candy store at how fast the Internet connection was.  He also hung out with our Superintendent, and they chatted about stuff.  While he dealt with some website bugs, and chatted, I helped our Special Ed teacher pack up her U-Haul.  She's moving today, which makes me sad (she worked wonders with Ryan this year).  But, I hope she will be happy in her new job and new home, so that makes me happy.

Once we got home, we looked over the chickens and decided that they weren't fat enough.  I know, they are huge, but the 'book' says that their breast needs to be creamy and yellow, not blue.  And their chests are kind of blue, so it claims they need more fat.  We switched out their food for a few days, but one way or another, we will have to kill them soon and put them out of their misery.  They are soooooo fat. 

Patrick and I spent some time out in the backyard, fixing the lawn mower. Apparently, when Allen was using it last week, he 'pushed' it, when he wasn't supposed to (the engine was still engaged, or something). And, it pushed one of the chains off of the gear. So, we ended up taking apart the bottom of the lawn mower and fixing the chain. And while we were out there, we took a picture of Ryan. Oh my goodness, he doesn't look evil! :)

The other chickens are doing fine outside.  We are kind of surprised how well they are doing.  It was in the 30's with snow and hail and rain, and they seem to have survived just fine.  They are starting to 'roost', which means they are sitting on the branches in their pen.  We went out there, and about 9 chickens were all sitting, next to each other, on the same branch.  Of course, us showing up startled them and a few jumped off.  But they are getting so old!

May 29, 2012

Outside Temp: 49 F (a little overcast... a little rain... a little hail... a little thunder and lightning.  And a beautiful sunset.)

What I cooked today:
Chili and Cornbread: I'm running low on ground beef, again, so I wanted something that only used 1lb for the entire family.  Chili works out well.  Although, I seem to remember the cornbread tasting better.  It was a little rubbery.  Which I like better than falling apart, but still not perfect.

Chocolate Chip Cookies: I was having a sugar craving this afternoon, so I decided to make cookie dough.  Of course, the entire family told me NOT to actually make cookies, but to leave it as dough so they could munch for the rest of the day.  But I wanted cookies!  So, I made 7 cookies (one cookie sheet) for myself, and told the rest of them they could have the dough.  I know, I don't NEED 7 cookies, but I knew that the kids would all want one, once they were cooked.  And I was right.  I ended up with 2.  (and that's because I ate them while the kids weren't looking!)

Update:
I actually did work today.  I know, shocking, but true!  And I'll probably have to do work tomorrow, too!  Oh, this working thing is overrated.  But, it makes me happy, so I guess it's okay.

For those of you who read the last few posts, we did NOT slaughter the chickens today.  We were going to, but Patrick worked late last night, and had to work again this afternoon, and we just didn't want to.  However, the chickens are getting to the point where they don't even stand up anymore.  They can't stretch their legs standing up, because they will fall over.  We really, really need to put them out of their misery.  Of course we both have things we need to do tomorrow, but we might just have to decide to do it. 

The kids were bored today, which is a few days sooner than I expected, but not entirely unexpected either.  There was more than once that I just sent them outside.  I didn't care what they did, just get out of the house.  With the weather a little chilly, and rainy, and snowy, for the last few days, they really needed to get out.

Around 7:30pm, they overheard a few kids a block away playing.  So, the three of them (Ryan was entranced in his Avengers movie and didn't want to leave), just headed out, hoping to find someone to play with.  We explained to them that they might want to be back home by dark.

So, for the next 2 hours, the kids were playing somewhere.  I have an idea of where they were, but I really wasn't concerned.  As the sun set, and the street lights (all 1 of them) turned on, I thought back to my childhood, where we used to play until dark.  Who knew that places still existed where kids could play until dark?

Around 9:30, I threw on my sweats and wandered over in that direction.  The kids had already headed back home, so we met half way (which is about 200 ft from our house).   Yes, the sun was down, but the sunset was still on the horizon.  And there were no concerns or worries.  I LOVE it here!

May 27, 2012

Outside Temp: 33 F (and snowing!!)
What I cooked today:
Pancakes: I love being able to make breakfast for the family.  I'm amazing how much I missed it while the kids were in school.  But, for now,  I get to make pancakes, which is awesome.

Papa Murphy's Pizza: We picked up bake at home pizzas while in town, so I guess that counts as 'cooking', right?
Update:

 Yes, it snowed... all day.  Which is totally awesome.  The chickens survived the night, although I think the would have preferred a nice warm coop.  But, until then, they get to stay outside, in the cold wet snow.  Except the two Cornish Roasters, which spent the night inside in the old chick's area.


We got a few inches of snow, although it switched to rain a few times, so I'm sure the snow will all be gone in a day or two.  But, until then, it's stinking awesome.  I love the idea that it's snowing when the kids are on summer vacation! 

Patrick and I headed into town today, since he needed a new keyboard.  However, we forgot that most of Great Falls is closed around 7pm on Sunday nights.  We mistakenly stopped for dinner first, which means when we finally got around to shopping, both Staples and Office Max were closed.  Lame... Oh well, we still needed some groceries, and we got a nice dinner out of the deal, so it wasn't a total loss.

May 26, 2012

Outside Temp: 32 F (Snowing and raining all day... )

What I cooked today:
Scrambled Eggs and Bacon: I actually enjoy making breakfast for the family.  Since the kids had breakfast at school, I never made it on school days.  And then, weekends, we've all got up at random times, so breakfast was never really reasonable.  But this morning, everyone was up by 10, so I could made something they would all enjoy.  And everything is better with Bacon!!

Chicken: We had dinner late tonight, but since I still had to feed them something, chicken was an easy option.  And it wasn't burgers...

Update:
So, as I mentioned above, I made bacon for breakfast.  And, amazingly, we actually had some bacon left when everyone was finished, so we decided that BLT's sounded really good for lunch.  Now, we have the bacon.  I have lettuce in the fridge, but we didn't have any tomatoes.  That's OK, since we needed to check the grandparents' house anyway, and we can steal some tomatoes from their plants. 

But, being the awful parents that we are, we thought we'd tease Allen a little.  So, we told him he had to go up there and get tomatoes for us... Of course, his only options for transportation would be running or his bike.  And it's uphill the whole 2 1/2 miles.  Oh, and it's snowing. 

Needless to say, he was not happy with us.  And no, we didn't actually make him go.  But it was funny for a few minutes, watching his face as he begged us not to make him!   Hehehehe.

Katie went out to check on the chickens during the snow storm this afternoon, and found that the two remaining Cornish Roasters had been pecked on.  They were both bleeding from the ears, and we realized that it's probably time to slaughter them.  But, since we weren't about to do it during the snow storm, we had to find someplace safe for them until next week.  So, they are both inside, in the cardboard box where we had them as chicks.  Of course, they are both so stinking fat, they couldn't fly out anyway.  They can barely walk. 

The other chicks seemed stupid enough to hang out in the cardboard boxes that are falling in.  So, we decided to remove the boxes completely, and force them to go into the dog igloo.  We pulled the two boxes out of their area, and they were all smart enough to go into the igloo.  It's really too small for  24 chickens, but with the temp below freezing, hopefully it will keep them warm.  Their water and food are both outside, so they will have to go out to eat.  But, they should stay alive for the next day or two, until the weather warms back up. 

I got the kids grades from school today in the mail. I have to have a talk with my oldest son, who disappointed me with 2 B+'s instead of all A's.  I understand his B+ in shop, since he ticked off his shop teacher.  But the B+ in English is just not cool.  (yea, I know, I'm demanding).  Of course, Katie and Connor got all A's but they are in Elementary school... I mean, how hard can that be?

May 22, 2012

Outside Temp: 50 F (Very pretty today... a little overcast)

What I cooked today:
Chicken Kiev: Patrick really wanted the chicken I made the other night.  I was lazy and didn't do the bread crumbs, which would have made it awesome.  As it was, it turned out just fine and everyone said it was great. 

Update:
I got to go into Geyser today to pick up some chicken feed.  Apparently, our chickens are actually pigs!  Wow, do they eat a lot!  We headed out to check their feed last night, and the 40 lb bag that we picked up two weeks ago was empty.  So, rather than head into Great Falls to get chicken feed, I called over to the Geyser Mercantile.  I LOVE supporting the guys here, since not only are they totally nice and convenient and fun to talk to, but their prices are awesome!

So, our chickens are still alive and doing well.  And now, they have food, so one less thing to worry about.  I'm still psyching myself up for next week (or perhaps the week after), when we have to slaughter the two remaining Cornish Roasters.  They are getting so big and fat, they waddle around and have to sit down to eat.  Most of the time, you can find them sitting with their face in the food.  I figure that as soon as they are gone, we won't have to spend as much on food!

Patrick and I have both been working hard.  He has two different contracts that he's been working on, and I've been working on the school's website.  It should be up soon (I hope) and I'll get to show it off to the staff on Thursday.  I have a bunch of features that I'm thinking about adding, to make it easier to maintain and use for the staff.  At least it will give me something to work on over the summer!

Tomorrow is the last day of school, which means the kids were willing to go to bed tonight.  I still got a few complaints, about going to sleep when it's still light out, but over all, they handled it well.  I'm just looking forward to NOT waking up at 7am every stinking day.  Woo Hoo!

May 17, 2012

Outside Temp: 51 F (it teased us all day, pretending to rain... It started and stopped all day long.  Now, it's finally raining.. )

What I cooked today:
Nothing: The kids were on their own for dinner.. I think they had sandwiches or hot dogs.  Too much going on, I really didn't want to deal with food... I hope that doesn't make me too bad... I'll make something good tomorrow!  (and to be perfectly honest, I just couldn't make chicken for dinner tonight... see below...)

Update:
Wow... what a day.

So, it was bound to happen sooner or later.  As you know, we've had our chicks for about 7 weeks now.  We lost one chick to a cat a few weeks ago.  And today, we lost another one.

This time, however, it was a little different.

We went out to check on the chicks and one of the Cornish (yes, the big ones that are due to be slaughtered in a few weeks anyway) was sleeping in her box.  She didn't get up and eat the scratch grains when I went in to check on them.  I thought that was a little weird, but I tried not to think too much of it.  We stayed out there for a while, chatting and throwing grains at the chicks.  Most of them came out to join us, but this one chick just stayed in her box, looking like she was asleep.  I went over and petted her (which usually causes them to get up and run away), and she lifted her head and looked at me, but didn't move. 

Not normal.

About this time, Patrick came home and looked at her as well.  He decided that there was something wrong.  He went over and picked her up.  She fluttered a little, and tried to jump out of his hands, but mostly just fell and landed on the ground.  Again, not good.

There was something wrong with her.  She didn't seem to be eating or drinking, so Patrick made the executive decision.  He carried her over behind the shed, and (with me and a friend and Kathryn watching), proceeded to wring it's neck. 

He held it in his arms, calmly petting it.  It was totally relaxed (or half-dead anyway from whatever was wrong).  Then he carefully put his hand around it's neck and quickly spun it around about 6-7 times (just like wringing out a wet towel).  It was over quickly and it didn't make any noise.  Again, that might be because it was so sick, but it was not too awful.  Of course, I did scream a little and hide my eyes.  I was expecting to be more prepared, but I'm kind of glad that it happened quickly without any time to think about it.

Once he'd wrung it's neck, he put it on the ground.  Yes, it did twitch for another minute or two.  I can imagine the image of a chicken with it's head cut off, but we really, really didn't want to deal with blood spurting.  Katie actually handled it really well, considering.  I asked her if she wanted to leave, but she asked to watch.  I wasn't sure if she was ready for this, but apparently, she did just fine.  We really should have told the other kids, so they could watch, but it happened so fast, we didn't really think about it.

After it was dead, Patrick wanted to check to make sure there wasn't worms or anything.  If there were any obvious problems (assuming that he would recognize and be able to identify those problems), we wanted to know about it.

So, I grabbed a steak knife (we totally need to get a hunting knife or a bowie knife, but a steak knife was all I could find at short notice) and he proceeded to autopsy the bird.  He made his lateral cut from the gizzard all the way down the front.  There was no food in the gizzard or the intestines.  And, it was totally dehydrated.  There was NO blood.  (okay, there was a very little blood in certain spots, but mostly, nothing).  He checked out the liver and spleen, and the liver seemed really enlarged.  Not sure what a normal liver looks like, so I'm not sure how he could tell it was enlarged, but I wasn't going to argue with the coroner.  He felt around the intestines to make sure no obvious worms or anything. 


We decided that since we didn't know what she was dying from, we didn't want to risk eating the meat.  So, he took the bird and tossed it across the road into the field next to our house.  I figure the carnivores in the neighborhood will have it gone by tomorrow morning.

On a much lighter note, the kids had a music concert tonight!  They each got to perform a few times and they seemed to have a great time.  Katie is such a ham!  She loves being the center of attention!  Connor was a little more reserved, and needs to remember to smile.  Allen got to help with the A/V stuff, which made him more nervous that actually playing his instrument.  I love that they are getting the experience with performing in front of a crowd so early.  By the time they are in high school, they'll be so used to it, they won't be nervous! 

May 3, 2012

Outside Temp: 46 F (little sprinkles of rain, here and there.  Enough to make you use the windshield wipers, but not so much that it was a problem walking in it.)

What I cooked today:
Soup: Patrick said that when it rains, he likes soup.  But not the 'taco soup', that I've made the last few times.  He was silly enough to say "Why don't you make a French style soup"... I told him to shove it.  I made a vegetable beef soup, with some Greek seasoning (just out of spite).  It actually turned out pretty good.  He said I could make it again... Oh thank you, kind one.

Update:
The kids had physicals at school today.  Of course, I'm not actually organized enough to have their paperwork together, so I had to run down to the school to get it filled out.  Katie's physical was fine, but the boys had to have 'boy' physicals.  Oh my goodness, you would have thought they had been tortured.  Both boys said it was awful, although I think they must be exaggerating.  I mean, how hard is it to turn your head and cough... (hehehe)

I get to sub tomorrow for the JH History, Math and then school wide music.  I really like subbing for this teacher, since I get to see a wide range of students.  For the younger grades, Friday's are 'Enrichment' days, which usually translates to playing games.  How can you mess that up?

Patrick got some really good news on a project he has been working on for the last year or two.  It might actually start 'paying', which would be just awesome.  I would be happy with it just paying what we've paid out.  But he thinks it might pay out a lot more than that.  Perhaps patience does pay off!

This morning was in the high 20's, which is not all that unusual.  But, after I got the kids ready for school, I thought I should check on the chicks.  (okay, to be honest, I went back to sleep for an hour, so it was already in the low 40's when I finally checked on them).  They were all out of their boxes and walking around their little caged area.  I filled their food trays with no problem.  Then I looked at their water.  We have a gallon jug, that sits upside down and fills a plastic ring at the bottom.  I realized that the chicks were not drinking, but didn't think much of it.  Until I realized that the water was frozen, solid.  Oh crap.  I broke through the ice, and they all came rushing over for water.  I'll have to keep a better eye on that when it gets below freezing. 

May 1, 2012

Outside Temp: 41 F (In the 50's most of the day, but really windy.  As long as you stayed out of the wind, it was beautiful!)

What I cooked today:
Burgers: I just had to use our new meat from Cascade.  It was delicious!  Although they packed it in 1 lb packets, instead of 1 1/2 lb. packs, which is going to be a problem.  I should have repacked them in 1 1/2 lb packs before putting them in the freezer, but oh well.  I'll make it work.  It actually worked out great today, since Allen had dinner with his track team, so it was only the 4 of us... 1/4 burgers, anyone?

Update:
It was a bittersweet day. 

The good news: Allen made his best times for both the 100m and the 200m.  The last few meets, he's been coming in 7th out of 8, consistently.  Today, he came in 4th and 5th out of 8... Awesome!  I am so proud of how hard he is trying and how much he has improved!

Also, Patrick was able to go out and mow our lawn.  Our lawn fills up most of our 1/2 ac. yard.  So, even with our new riding lawn mower, he was out there for about 2 hours, and only managed to mow about 1/3 of the lawn.  Granted, it hasn't been mowed since before we moved in, so he had to go back over the same spot a few times, each time lowering the blades.  But still, 6 hours to mow a lawn?  That's crazy. 

That being said, I am totally grateful that 1/3 of the lawn is mowed.  That section looks so much better!  I can't wait for it all to be done.

And the bad news: Ryan went out and played with the chicks this morning, and he forgot to close the gate.  We're not sure exactly what happened next, but one of the Cornish Roasters was taken (probably by a cat) and munched behind the shed.  Patrick went out there when we left for school, and found that the gate was open.  Then, he counted chicks and came up with one missing.  He didn't immediately see the carcass, so he thought it might have been a hawk.  But when Ryan and I got home from school (about 3 hours later), I found it. 

Patrick then added more chicken wire around the cage, and wired closed the gates, so Ryan won't be able to open them easily.

We also decided that the rest of the chickens were ready to head outside.  They were flying around the area inside, so he figured it was time.  The weather has been nice, and it's only supposed to get into the high 30's tonight.  Since the other chicks have been doing so well, we figured they'd probably be fine.  It's been 4 weeks.

When we went back out to check on the chicks later this evening, there was an orange cat sitting next to the cage, just watching.  We figure he was going back for seconds.  Patrick scared him off, but I'm seriously considering getting a dog. 

All the kids were upset, but mostly Katie.  She said it was her favorite, although I couldn't really tell the difference between them.  She has spent more time with them than anyone, so I'm not surprised that she's upset.  She probably would have handled us slaughtering them better, since she could have been prepared.  And we've told her that when we do it, it will be quick, with as little pain as possible.  I think she was envisioning it, and it scared her.  She made us check the cage again tonight, just in case. 

I know this is just part of having animals.  I'm more upset about the loss of the meat, but I can understand why the kids are taking it hard.  They have heard friends of theirs talk about losing livestock (just yesterday, there was a mare, who didn't survive birthing her foal, and a pig).  But, I think losing your first animal is hard for anyone. 

April 28, 2012

Outside Temp: 38 F (The storm tapered off sometime this morning, and we haven't gotten any rain or snow for most of the day, with the exception of a little hail and light rain before 10am... Not really sure what to expect with tomorrow)

What I cooked today:
Chicken Noodle Soup: I figured it was kind of chilly, and hot chicken soup is always a good choice.  I made up a few loafs of Grandma's artisan bread and threw together the things for soup.  We didn't have any more stars or little noodles, so I used egg noodles, which worked just fine.  The soup turned out great and really hit the spot!

Update:
Yes, the chicks are still alive.  Amazingly!  I admit that when we left last night, I wasn't so sure they'd survive the night.  The 6 birds who have been outside were given a dog house, with pine shavings, that was big enough for their water and food.  Then, we used boards and old shingles to put a 'lean-to' across the front, so they could leave if they had to, but they would be protected from the elements. 

Apparently, they did just fine!  We came back down this morning, and they were walking around in their dog house, eating and pooping, just like normal.  I guess the 25 degrees last night didn't hurt them too much!

We also left the heat lamps off the other 22 birds, who are still inside.  Their room got into the low 50's last night, but they also survived.  We read that the birds need to be exposed to the cold to make them grow their feathers.  So, I guess we've been baby-ing them for the last week or two.  The inside birds look like they've grown up overnight, and, once this storm is passed, I think we'll start moving them outside. 

We stayed up at the Grandparents' house last night, since our place had no running water.  And, with our family, no running water means no toilet, which is just not acceptable.  The kids liked it up there, since the Internet is faster and the kids could play on-line games AND watch Netflix on the TV... at the same time!  Amazing.  I think that our line from the road to our house is old, and it limits the bandwidth for our network. 

So, this morning, Patrick and I came back home, and he went under the house to check out the water pump.  He flipped the breaker, and it sounded like it went back on, then off.  So, he flipped it again.  Same thing happened.  The third time, he slowly flipped it off, then back on again.  As he flipped it up, he heard the pump engage.  Then, as he reached the top, it flipped off.  Lovely.  Apparently, it only works when the breaker is in the 3/4 position.  Ugh, one more issue with the house.  Oh well.  Now, at least we know!