Edifice Rex

Everyone's A Critic

2012-01-29T22:06:00.000-06:00

I stopped by our relatively small, local library the other day and was slightly surprised to see this book on the shelves, so I promptly snatched it up. I had been wanting to read it for some time and was delighted to see they had the book. Actually, our library, though small, has a pretty darn good variety and selection of books, especially on gardening, homesteading and such. So. What did I think of the book? If you are at all interested in gardening, homesteading, permaculture and/ or our environment I would highly recommend the book. It's a delight to read and even though the facts presented are quite sobering you don't get the feeling you're being flogged about the head and shoulders. The parts about the turkeys alone are hysterical but it also provides a generous amount of meat to chew on for days (pun only slightly intended). For instance, one passage states: "If every U.S. citizen ate one meal per week from local, organic food, we would save 1.1 million BARRELS of oil every week." Now, that just floored me. One meal a week. 1.1 barrels a week! Now, I realize that for what seems like the majority of people, they couldn't give a shit about saving any oil. They want cheap food now and really do not care one whit about where it comes from. I've had 'em tell me to my face and be proud of it. But, for those of us who do care and who are concerned about our food and environment and actually see the connection, that is an astounding revelation, or it was to me anyway. I mean, I understood that growing your own food would save oil, etc but 1.1 barrels a week? and just for one meal. I also understand there would be a lot of skeptics out there who would say, how can they prove that statistic? Well, they actually do give some hard figures and when you realize that petroleum is used to not only run farm equipment, ship food and all but to make fertilizers, pesticides, etc etc. it starts to make sense.

So, it got me to thinking....what activity can we, as concerned people, do that makes the most difference to the health of our world and ourselves? Now of course, you want to participate in more than one but I hear people going on all the time about if you really want to save the earth we must all be on solar power, electric cars and yada, yada, yada. I know a number of people who live off-grid, non-consumer based lives but yet, don't grow a large percentage of their food. This gives me pause. I'm not saying they are buying all their stuff from California or Mexico but it has really made me think lately. Especially down here in the south where we have such a long growing season. Now, I hope to one day be off grid or at least produce some of my own power and this is a fine goal. But it costs a lot of money at first. I know a lot of people that drive electric cars or hybrids but they still must use power generated by conventional means. Most of the off grid people I know are not the ones with the electric cars. Both can be pricey so I guess you sometimes have to choose. Anyway. I know tons of people, places that recycle, reuse and all that and that's wonderful. But what is the number one action we can take that makes the most difference per person? I think it's to grow or source locally, a very high percentage of your own food. We must eat and often several times a day. If everything you put in your mouth (food that is) has been shipped hundreds of miles, what does that all add up to? It's freakin' crazy to me when I finally started thinking about it.
Now, I realize not everyone has the amount of land I have or even lives in a house. Millions live in apartments and such but for those of us who do have the room it seems a no-brainer to me and it's something that will have a major impact for relatively little start up costs, as opposed to say, going off grid. And yes, of course, nobody can produce everything they need and I'm not saying we should. I have no problem with importing a few things. Humans have traded spices and foods since the beginning. Make a little money for you, I get a treat I can't make myself...But for us to grow tomatoes down the road and ship them to Wisconsin while we turn around and import ours from California?? Wha???
Since reading this book I decided to challenge myself to find local products to supply what I can't grow or make myself and I have been pleasantly surprised by what I've found. Alabama makes a lot of stuff!! I actually found an organic diary! Well, two actually. One is in south Alabama and too far to drive but they sell their products in Birmingham ,where I go frequently. And yes, it is shipped in but 150 miles is a helluva lot better than 600. And I know their milk is from their cows and their cows only, not cows from Texas and Canada and God only knows where else. The other diary is much closer, well within driving distance for me, but it has actually been easier to get this other milk for now, as I was already in Birmingham. It is a bit more expensive but with all the money I save growing my own food, and not buying junk, I have plenty of money to buy the milk. Plus, I can take a gallon and make my own yogurt and maybe even some cheese as I don't keep a lot of milk for just drinking. The photo above shows just a few things I already had that is produced locally or in our state. We make lots of honey and various syrups. Of course we produce cornmeal and grits! And only the white cornmeal; southerners know better than to use that yellow crap. My sister knows a man that grows wheat and corn for grinding on a commercial scale and our state even grows rice! Not a tremendous amount but some. I am very fortunate to live in a county that produces tons of fruit. Apples, blueberries, strawberries, peaches, melons, pecans (yeah, that's a nut), blackberries and much, much more. Yes, I hope to grow much of this myself one day but for now I can get it within just a few miles. As I mentioned in the beginning, we want to go solar soon too but until then, I think I'm going to put much more effort into producing my own food or sourcing it locally. I was meaning to anyway, but this gives me a lot more motivation. Oh yeah!! and to this end...I'm going to start growing my own tea! Annie's Tea Plantation! Lots of people say, what??? the tea plant is Camillia Sinesis; it's in the camellia family! Our state flower!! lol! DUH on me! I don't know why I didn't think of this sooner!
So what do ya'll think? What do you think is one activity that really makes the most difference to us and our environment?

All Good Books

2012-01-25T23:06:00.001-06:00

Over the few years that I have lived on my little homestead here, I have collected a few books that have really come in handy and I thought some of ya'll might find them interesting if you don't already know about them. Especially if you are geared towards the gardening, homesteading kinda movement. I think a couple of them are pretty standard to most people who garden seriously but there was one or two that might not be that popular. I can't really say that I use anyone more than the others; they all get referenced regularly. And I have several more good ones on the same subjects. I just thought these 4 were kinda the best overall.
I think everybody is familiar with Rodale's organic gardening books and for good reason. I use this book a lot! Great info on all kinds of stuff, even if you've been gardening for a while. It has good illustrations and diagrams too.
I think there are several variations of John Seymour's book on self-sufficiency but I like this one a lot. My only complaint would be that it contains so much information on so many subjects that it sometimes leaves a bit to be desired in depth of information. For instance, the section on making pottery just kinda glosses over the process. Not really enough info for someone new to the craft. I do really like his gardening strategies for each season and that is outlined well and how to best use the land you have, whether it's 1 or 20 acres. I consult the gardening sections a lot. It also gives you a lot of ideas for truly being self-sufficient; producing energy, reducing wastes, raising food etc.
Story's Guide to Raising Chickens is great too. It gives really good overall info on everything from hatching chicks to cooking the chickens. Good diagrams and illustrations too. I also supplement this book with The Chicken Health Handbook, which is a bit more technical but full of good info. I've never had any problem with my chooks that I could figure out using one of these books. Not that we have much problems with them but anyway..
Last, but not least by any means, is the Reader's Digest book, Homemade. This is not a book I've seen espoused much but I love it. There are recipes for everything in this book! food, cosmetics, animal treats, cleaning supplies, art supplies and on and on and all of them designed to save you money and go easy on the planet. It also has a huge section on home health remedies and gardening tips and products. I have used and/ or made much of the stuff in the book and it's always worked, been luscious, effective or what have you. I highly recommend this one whether you live on 200 acres or in a ultra urban apartment. Even if you are not into "green" that much, the recipes etc. are not so out there that you don't want to fool with making them. They might require having some dried herbs etc. on hand but everything is really easy to make and usually pretty quick. And relatively cheap! It has a to-die-for rice pudding recipe in it that I am going to post soon. I really, really like this book. And no, they didn't pay me to say that!

Do any of you have a similar book that you would recommend?

Swwweeeeeeet!

2012-01-24T10:11:00.000-06:00

Alright!! The maple syrup experiment was a success! In my opinion anyway. Our season ended quicker than I wanted, due to this unusual warm spell, that has now lasted for a couple of weeks. So, I went ahead and took the 2 gallons of sap that I had collected and processed it. Now, to people that do this regularly, 2 gallons isn't squat. It's hardly even worth fooling with but for me it was something to try. Just enough to see if it would actually work and taste decent.
So, Jack hooked up the big propane burner that we use for boiling water for chicken scalding and I got my pots and stuff. Now, all this is done outside because it puts off an enormous amount of moisture. I used a large stainless steel pot and it was just big enough for the 2 gallons. So, basically you just get it up to a rolling boil and check on it every once it a while.

After several hours it had boiled down considerable and had begun to get this foam around the edge. I scooped that off occasionally. Don't know if it matters or not. At first the sap is basically like water but as it boils down it starts to take on a golden hue and you can smell the sweetness. At this point it was starting to get pretty low in the pot and I didn't want it to burn so I knew I would have to transfer it to a smaller pot. I had calculated about how much finished syrup I would get out of this batch (about 3/4 cup) so I knew when it was getting close. When it did get around a cup and a half or so I took it inside, which is okay because most of the water is gone, and poured it into a smaller pot on the stove. It's very important to have a candy thermometer to work with. I had also calculated the boiling point of water for my area because the syrup must reach 7.1 degrees above that boiling point. (It varies according to your elevation above sea level.)

So, I continued to boil all the while monitoring with the thermometer. At this point the syrup formed a lot of foam as it boiled but that's okay. When it reached temperature, for me 217.1 degrees F., I took it off the stove and poured it through clean fabric to filter it. You have to do this while it's still good and hot. The fabric I had wasn't too fine so I poured it through an unbleached coffee filter next and it cleared it up really nice. Some people recommend using a hydrometer to test the syrup and that's probably a good idea, and I actually have one, but this was such a small amount and I knew it would be kept it the fridge anyway so I didn't bother.

And here is the final product!! We had pancakes this morning with it and it is really good. It is not very thick as many people would expect syrup to be and it doesn't have that really strong maple flavor but I thought it was quite tasty and sweet. My maples are Red Maples by the way, not the Sugar Maples but you can use any type maple and they say even Sycamore and some other trees.
I know if I had a large batch of sap, say 30-40 gallons, this would be a much more time consuming and labor intensive thing but for what I did it was pretty easy. Just get set up and get the stuff boiling and check it every so often. Now, when it gets close to being boiled down all the way you have to monitor it closely but it was pretty simple and not a lot of trouble. I think spending a weekend to do this for a gallon or so of syrup would be well worth it.

Things I Have Seen Lately

2012-01-22T20:06:00.002-06:00

Jack and I have taken a couple of day trips lately, just to get out a little and have some fun while the homestead is kinda slow.

These were solid silver, made completely by hand. There were probably 20 animals in the exhibit. The details were exquisite.

We were also scoping out a few new galleries where I might could possibly exhibit my work. It's funny; these days I often find myself inspecting the structure of the building more than the art. Especially if it's old, board-formed concrete like was in this place. No luck here however. They specialize in "outsider" or folk art. Outsider means no university degree, so that leaves me out.

This was an example of folk art that just blew me away. Normally, that genre is not really my thing but this lady had a gift. Outstanding design and composition.

Thought this was kinda neat and it was rather large. I have always been partial to "junk" or found object sculpture. I hope to get back to doing some of my own soon.

Little Bit Of This And That

2012-01-20T12:34:00.001-06:00

This is one of the meat chickens we butchered the other day. They came out quite tasty if I do say so myself! I stuffed this one with onions and sage, seasoned the outside and roasted it in my new oven. It was very juicy and plump. I think the taste was very similar to the good, organic roasters you get in the stores. Perhaps a little more texture? Not tough by any means but just not mushy? The crispy skin was very flavorful too. I took half of these (5) and froze them whole and then took the other half and cut up for frying, braising etc. I froze them according to section; legs, wings etc. Then, I took the backs and ribs that were left of these and boiled them to make stock. And it made a beautiful, golden rich broth. Now, these birds had a significant amount of meat on their backs, so I'll pull the meat off and freeze it for fajitas, pot pies etc. The skin goes in Chigger food and the bones get thrown in the wood stove. I read about this as a way to make your own bone ash. Of course, they are mixed in with wood ash but you can just sprinkle that on parts of your garden that need both.
These chickens also make several meals as it weighed in at 5 lbs. Overall I am pleased with these meat birds but I do know several things we will do different next time to differ some of the feeding costs. Despite a few of them having leg problems they were very active and acted really, well, chicken like. Not just like blobs of meat laying around. I have some ideas also to try next time for their leg issues, if we get these again. I also did some close inspection on the innards as we butchered them to check for health problems. Some had mentioned the possibility of Marek's in relation to their legs etc. so I really wanted to see what was going on inside, as Marek's has several internal symptoms. Well, everything looked fine. Clean, smooth livers and lungs. I won't go into gory details but everything inside looked healthy.

We also decided to purchase a few more hens to replace those we have lost recently. Jack found a guy not far from here who had some extra Rhode Island Reds so we got 5. I checked these out and they have been vaccinated for Marek's and one other thing that slips my mind at the moment. They are getting used to their new digs slowly. They guy that had them kept them up in a big coop all the time so I don't know if they ever got to go out on grass and such. They are a little scrawny looking right now, and mostly missing their tail feathers, but we think they'll fill out fine after they adjust to life here.

The garlic is poking it's first tendrils up due to this unseasonably warm weather. I bought 2 different types this past fall from and organic supplier, Southern Exposure. I have been very pleased with their seeds and such so far. They are always very robust and healthy. I would highly recommend them if you live in the southern regions. These are "Inchelium Red" and "Red Toch" and are softneck types. I am very anxious to see how they do. I amended their beds well with chicken poo, compost and bone meal before planting.

And last but not least, here is Goober, aka Basement Chicken. Goober gets to go out everyday, if it's not raining, and enjoy the fresh air and sunshine. I was putting him in a chicken tractor but decided the best place might be the garden. Now, Goober can stand up and walk, and even run at times, but his legs are kinda weak so he sits a lot. He has recently discovered the catnip plant and I often find him face down in it. He really likes it and he can sit right next to his meat brothers (or sisters) and chat with them. Even though we have cut the horde down to 8 I'm still kinda hesitant to put Goober back in with them. I'm afraid they might trample him. As I said, they are very active. Jack and I often joked that it would be a horrible thing if one of us had ever tripped and fallen down in their run. It would be like fluffy, white piranha. Anyway, since naming Goober and such I think he might be the resident pet chicken but he does have a job. Due to his infirmity, he doesn't scratch like most chickens and therefore doesn't tear my plants up. So, he gets to forage the garden and pick weeds and poop. He also is very quick to snatch up any bugs if they are unfortunate enough to wander too near him. I'm thinking he may be my squash bug secret weapon. Just set him down next to the plant and wham!! They won't know what hit 'em!
Jack has made the first efforts to put in an asparagus bed also. I really want to get that going this spring along with many new fruit trees. First though, I've got to finish this kitchen! My range hood came in the other day so I've got to get busy on that. So much stuff to do!!

Winter's Work

2012-01-17T23:33:00.000-06:00

Caution: the following post contains photos that some people may find objectionable. Viewer discretion advised. I'm serious; there is chicken bodies and blood.

Even though the garden is pretty much out of commission right now and most chores associated with that, there is still plenty to do around here where food is concerned.

Cool weather is historically the preferred time for slaughter and I agree with that myself. The yellowjackets are just too bothersome in the warmer months to do something like this outdoors. So, Sunday we finally got to the task and harvested 10 of the meat birds. That is a good number for us to do in one day it seems. We usually pick a nice sunny, cold day. I do this for me and for the chickens. Nice for us because you don't want to do this in impending bad weather. Better for the chickens because they are running around outside enjoying themselves and have no clue what is transpiring. We only bring down 2 at a time so they don't see anything going on and are happily oblivious. I don't like to have a bunch sitting in a cage waiting their turn, you know? Jack and I don't enjoy this at all and a lot of people can't understand this part but I do not wish to participate in the abusive, industrial food system anymore, where chickens and other animals are raised in horrible conditions out of sight and no one cares. It's hard to walk these guys down to the awaiting table but I know they had a good life and enjoyed running around outside in the sunshine. If I'm going to ask for their life I should have the cahoonies to do it myself. So, we both 'do the deed', so to speak and as quickly as possible. Me holding and Jack wields the knife. Then, after they are bled, he scalds them and we both pluck and I do the dressing out while he plucks more.

I was very pleased at how well developed these were. Very plump all over, no scrawny legs and such. After they are completely dressed out and washed very well they get packed in coolers with ice and salt and aged for about 3 days. This draws any last bit of blood out so you don't get any gamey taste. I then divide them up and freeze some whole for roasting and then cut up the rest for stir fries, frying and so on. We had let these get bigger than most do just for lack of time and such to deal with it. Christmas had me so busy we just couldn't find the time. As a result, the hanging weight (after dressing out) of these were all around 6 lbs.

So, what did the other chickens think about it all? I have to admit, they kinda gross me out. They always come down to see what's going on and end up scratching around for bits and pieces. Yes, you got that right...they eat whatever they find of their brethren. I even chopped up a little fresh liver for them, just to see. They fought over it. Almost knocking each other down to get to eat it. I have to say in their defense though that Runt, the rooster there, was very upset when we caught the first 2 meat birds to process. I slipped in and picked them up gently but they are not used to being carried and so squawked a little. Runt came running let me tell you! He sensed something and went into protector mode, even going after Jack. We shooed him off finally though and he ran back to his girls. Most people would never believe a chicken will eat meat but they love it. I used to have a good frog population here. Used to. Frog is a great delicacy to them, apparently. I even once saw Big 'Un, the Barred Rock rooster we raised, down a small field mouse whole. I didn't think a chicken's mouth could open that wide. He flipped that thing up in the air and 2 gulps it was gone!

So, anyway, on to brighter things... I am running a bit of an experiment this winter. My land is inundated with Red Maples so I have tapped a couple to see what I can get. Up north the maple season is usually in February and March and I waited that long last year only to see the temps go up too high and stay. See, it must be cold enough to go below freezing at night but get above freezing in the day for the sap to flow. For us, that's January. So far I only have about 1 1/2 gallons of sap but I've only had the trees tapped for a couple of days now. I may tap one more as we are supposed to go back into cold weather this week. So, we'll see. I just wanted enough to be able to see if this would make good syrup. The sugar content in Red or Black Maples is not as high (obviously) as Sugar Maples but it is still supposed to make good syrup.

It's fun anyway! These buckets are quite large. They would probably hold 3 or 4 gallons of sap. I think I'll just use plastic buckets or such for any more. I collect the sap every day and pour it up into 1 gallon jugs that are BPA free and rated for water storage.

It takes 10 gallons of sap to make 1 quart of syrup. That is quite a lot of sap but you can get about 1 gallon from one big tree each day.

The sap must be stored around 38 degrees and only for up to 7 days before it is made into syrup. At first I had no idea where I was going to be able to store that much sap. You really need to have several gallons to start with or it's just not much worth all that work. Finally, Jack remembered a small refrigerator he had stored out in the tool shed we built adjacent to the chicken coop. I had kinda griped about him keeping it but it turned out rather handy I must admit. The chicken coop/ shed has power already so we just had to plug it up and clean it out a little. It should work great for storing 10-11 gallons of sap easy and will only be turned on for stuff like this. I can't imagine that our syrup season will last long so it won't be running for weeks on end.

I had to include this picture of Chigger with her buddy Ramona. Ramona is the only chicken that will play with her and Chigger is just beside herself! She loves her chickens! They do this staring contest thing a lot and Ramona always wins. That chicken don't back down from anybody! She is a great hen, very personable and chatty. If Chigger gets a little too rambunctious Ramona will peck her on the behind to show her who's boss!

Beyond The Gray Sky

2012-01-12T22:30:00.000-06:00

Well, now that the festivities are all behind us the gray, dreary days of January have settled in and it's all I can do to muster much enthusiasm for anything more than reading a good book while soaking up the warmth of the wood stove. We have had an unseasonable warm spell, as it seems many parts have, so I did take advantage of that and spread a good layer of chicken poo and saturated straw over the entire garden area. That should do wonders come spring. I've continued the mulching and planted a few new evergreens to increase the visual interest of the gardens. The chickens completely shred any annuals or tender flowers I try to keep in pots, so I ripped their sorry remains out (the flowers that is) and planted some sturdy small shrubs in their place. At least it will give us a little more greenery to look at in all this gray.
The cold returned today with a vengeance, even a little snow this evening, so we can now butcher the meat birds. We had put it off for a few days because it was just so dang warm and I prefer to do that when it's fairly cool if possible. The broccoli has completely pooped out but I have let the plants stay in order to give the meat birds a treat. I throw them 1 or 2 a day to devour with some other greens. They really enjoy that. The cabbage are still holding on pretty good but I don't know if they'll make it to spring.
As I stated in an earlier post, things are going well and this stage of our homestead is really coming together. We are seeing some definite rewards from all our hard work and it's great. But, there are always trials to overcome in this type of life. Sometimes bad things happen no matter what we do.

Ya'll remember that we had one hen die a few weeks back, just out of the blue. Well, the week after New Years Jack and I were inside eating lunch and I heard Chigger barking a bit. I didn't think much of it but did go out a few minutes later to take some scraps to the chickens. We let the hens free range during the day and Chigger does a pretty good job of looking out for them. Well, as I approached the garden area I saw Henny (the red hen above) laying on the ground and Chigger was pacing back and forth beside her growling and obviously agitated. She kept looking off into the woods but didn't seem to know what to do. I could tell Henny was in bad shape and ran down to see. Long story short, she had apparently been hit by a hawk and Chigger interrupted before the hawk could carry Henny off. She didn't seem terribly bad hurt in a way but I could see two small puncture wounds on her head and she seems stunned, her eyes dilated. I looked around for the other chickens and there was no one anywhere. Even the meat birds had ran for the hills. They were all crammed in the coop house and completely silent, which for them is quite a feat! I ran in the direction Chigger kept looking but couldn't see any predator or anything or the other hens. I guess Chigger sensed my intention because she ran down the trail a bit and stopped. She barked a small bit and ran a little farther, stopping to look back at me. I followed her and she actually led me to the other hens who were hiding in a clump of blackberry brambles.

I ran back to the house and called for Jack, who was already coming outside and we herded the chickens up to the coop house and inside. We debated whether or not to try to take Henny to a vet and finally decided just to doctor her a little and see if we could tell how bad it was. (Turns out we wouldn't have made it anyway.) So, we wrapped her in a towel and put her in my studio by the stove. She didn't seem that bad at first but then I noticed it seemed her head was swelling and I saw more puncture wounds. They were small, like pin pricks right around her eye. Suddenly she started to have a seizure and I scooped her up to keep her from hurting herself more as I ran up to the house to find Jack. I knew we would have to put her down; her injuries were too bad but she heaved a big sigh and died in my arms before I could reach the steps. I sure hated to tell Jack. Henny was his favorite and a real good hen. She laid every day right before sunrise, almost like clockwork. Back in the summer she had developed a tumor on one of her feet, which we had to surgically remove. She took it all in stride; no problem. We buried her in the shady area behind the coop house where the chickens like to rest and scratch in the leaves.
So, things go pretty good for a while and then things go crappy but things go on. We may go pick up a couple more hens if we can find some for a reasonable price. We'll see.

A Little Bit Of A Mystery!

2012-01-11T14:03:00.000-06:00

So I know ya'll are all wondering about the other penny, right? Well, the saga drug on for a while. Jack and I both were sick of eating cupcakes so we talked Allen into coming down and eating more. It was strange that it just kept getting down to fewer and fewer cupcakes and still no penny. Finally, we got down to the last two. Erin and Sal; which wold it be? I mustered up the stomach for one more while Allen took the other one. We chewed slowly, wondering which one would hold the prize. Then....we realized neither one did. What?? Those were the last two?? What happened to the other penny? Allen and Jack laughed at me! Are you absolutely sure you put TWO pennies in the batter?? Yes!! I know I did! Ya'll saw me! I could not figure out what went wrong. Had one of us accidentally eaten one of the coins? You'd think we would have noticed that. We thought and thought and scratched our heads but we never did figure it out or determine where that other penny got off to. So..................

I put everybody's name (sans Pablo) back into a bowl to do this the old fashioned way. I counted to make sure everybody was there!

I stirred them up good and got Grendal to draw! She sniffed around for some time but finally picked one. Actually, I closed my eyes and drew one. And..............

I know that's actually Peg on Vancouver Island but I was short on space. Anyway, congratulations! Email me your address Peg and chose your mug from that original picture. Remember Pablo got the most red one.

I'll be back to posting soon. Jack has still been under the weather and I've been rather sick the past 2 days myself. Plus, the weather is awful dreary and rainy and has just sucked the enthusiasm right out of me. I hope to have some more interesting stuff soon. I've got some recipes and other things in mind and am even going to do a separate food page on here. I don't know why I didn't think of that sooner.

All Things New

2012-01-08T12:59:00.000-06:00

In keeping with the new year I've been experimenting with some new designs and new glazes. I'm not sure what it is but lately I've felt a very renewed sense of creativity and action. Whatever it is, let's hope it continues! I think part of it is that we have been making some progress on the homestead. Things are starting to come together in that realm and I really feel that this is the life I am meant to have. No, things are not all roses and daisies (I'll explain later) but I feel good about our food production, my art production and just things in general. We are even working towards adding active solar elements to the house. More about this later too.

This is a "new" glaze that I really like (the inside color, not the dark rim). Actually, it is partially a mistake. See, I have a standard oatmeal colored glaze that I use quite a bit and so I ran out recently. Well, there are literally hundreds of glazes out there with the name Oatmeal. I had 2 written down in my books and, you guessed it, I mixed the wrong one. The recipes look very similar but produce a noticeably different glaze. And the bad thing is that the one I made this time is not suitable for dinnerware. Well, I had 5 gallons of it now and had to do something. I got to thinking and knew that I also had about 3 gallons of a slate blue that I had decided to retire. It wasn't very popular anymore and I had tired of it. So...what if I mixed them? I did (reserving a little of each glaze separately) and it came out wonderful! Plus, the elements of the slate glaze brought the finish of the new glaze up to where it would be suitable for food use. I am going to try to compare the two recipes and see if I can combine the formulas to make this glaze now, instead of always making 2 glazes and mixing them. I really hope I am successful. So, that was a good save and nothing was wasted. But now, I need a name for it! It sorta, kinda, vaguely resembles an ash glaze so I had just thought about Blue Ash. That's kinda boring. The stores where I sell my work likes for me to name the glazes fancy stuff, like Paprika and Oatstraw. You know how they are nowadays about colors. But hey, as much as this lady sells, I don't care if she names them Chickenshit. So, any ideas?

Speaking of pottery and stuff, it was brought to my attention that the email address I have had on my pottery page has been dead for some time and I had forgotten! So, if you tried to email me at that old Hotmail address, I didn't get it! I closed that account several, several weeks ago and just forgot to change it there. Please forgive me if you've been trying to get a hold of me there. I did send out an email change notice to those of you I correspond with and hope everybody got that. But if not, my email is now ann.beaird@gmail.com. It is also listed under the About Me header. I hope no one has been emailing me and think I've been ignoring you.

I will also continue updating the cupcake situation in the posts here. As of today, Rurality is out! I may have some company later on and I will stuff a few cupcakes down them to try to speed things up!

*Update!!! Allen came by and scarfed down some more cupcakes! This is really getting interesting! OK, those eliminated this time are...

Peg on Vancouver Island, Lisa in Bammer, Beatrice, Tammy (Grendal fan) and Dan. Sorry guys. But this is kinda fun! OK, (smack, smack) and FloridaCracker.

Let The Nomming Begin!!! (Updating!)

2012-01-06T12:27:00.000-06:00

Alright! Here we go!! Now, I swear I did this as fair and anonymously as I could. Since ya'll were so good to comment so much, and are such sweeties anyway, I decided to give 2 mugs away! To 2 separate people now, not 2 mugs to one person! ha! So, dropped in 2 pennies and stirred well. I was surprised that I absolutely could not tell where those pennies went after I stirred them in. I guess they're still in there?

I made up little teeny flags with everybody's name on one. There were 20 people entered by the way. I turned the flags around backwards so I couldn't see the names and placed one in each cupcake. Not that I had any idea which 2 cupcakes have the penny, but anyway.

So, here we go! I guess I should have just had a bunch of cupcakes already made and then been able to start eating last night but then, you don't know how many people are going to enter...or I guess I should have had ya'll enter your names a week ago or something so all of this would have been ready last night. Well, anyway...this is the way we're doing it this year! Now, as we eat the cupcakes some of you will be eliminated because your cupcake will be empty, so do ya'll want me to post who gets eliminated as it happens?? Or just announce the winners at the end?
And good luck to everybody!!

*Okayy, the first winner is......................Pablo!! Since Pablo is probably one of, if not my #1 long-time reader, he deserves to finally get something out of this blog! I started to say oldest reader but that didn't sound right! ha! So, Pablo, email me your address and you get first pick of the mugs!

I will also take the opportunity to report that Woody, Hermit Jim and Ed have been eliminated. Sorry! Burp!

* Update! As of now, Sissy and my Backwood Neighbor have been eliminated. Sorry ya'll! I'm not sure we can eat anymore tonight but I think I'll enlist Allen to put down a few for the cause. He probably won't mind!

*More updates!! We're slowing down a little on the cakes but we managed to get 3 more down today! Unfortunately, Adrianna, Chicory and Island Rider have been eliminated. Better luck next time ladies!

Happy 12th Day and Night!! (Mug Giveaway!!)

2012-01-05T06:00:00.000-06:00

Alright!! So, today is the 12th Day of Christmas and as promised we are going to be having a party here tonight and I'll be taking comments and names all day if you want to get your name in for the mug drawing! I would like for ya'll, when you leave your comment, to tell what new plans you may have made for the new year. Not necessarily resolutions but just something you'd like to accomplish or do this year. But if don't want to that's okay too; just leave your name for the drawing. I know I've got a BIG list of stuff I want to do!

When the party starts, after about 6:00 pm ( and ends at midnight as does your chance to get your name in!) central time, let's say, I'll be doing sort of a timeline thing. Updating my post as the night goes along. Not sure how long I'll last and I'll probably be baking and such as we go. Ya'll are encouraged to comment all along too.

So, these are the mugs you get to choose from. (Click on the photo to enlarge and get a better look) I thought I had more of a variety of color but the reds are very popular! Well, anyway, it's a free mug! These are my standard size which hold about 12 oz. They are microwave and dishwasher safe but be aware they get very hot if put in a microwave. So, let the festivities begin!! Are any of ya'll having 12th Night parties of your own?? If you are, what does that entail?

*Wow, this many comments and it's only 8:30 a.m. my time! I may need more cupcakes! I thought I'd wait until this afternoon before I start baking to maybe get a better idea of how many I need, since the coin has to be put in the batter. Heck, if I get a lot more comments than what I'm thinking now I'll just bake another batch and give away 2 mugs! On, and you people from Canada put your name in! I don't think shipping would be too bad. I've shipped there before and it's not bad for a light mug!

*Hey People! Keep those comments coming! I'm still trying to decide on a cupcake recipe! Jack requested something a little on the healthy side; maybe carrot cake or a wheat/ fruit combo. I know, it's still a cupcake but at least it's not white flour! lol! I'll be glazing and firing more pottery today but still checking in! Just talk amongst yourself!

*Hey, here I am again!! We are about to eat supper and then I have to work on glazing pottery but I'm still here! I'm really enjoying the comments and appreciate ya'll participating so well. Hopefully, I'll finish with the pottery in short order and get that firing going so I can check in more often.

*Okay! I'm back for good! Finished the pottery and have the kiln loaded and ready to fire. Well, I'm going to go take a shower and then I'll be back! Won't take long. Hey, now, I know I have many readers who have probably read for quite some time but never, ever commented so don't ya'll be shy if you want to get your name in for the drawing. This isn't just for my regular commenters!

*Hey!! I got some spiked eggnog and Jack and I are watchin' 'Aliens and Cowboys'!! It's not near as stupid as I thought it would be! Besides, it's got Daniel Craig in it! Wooweee! That man could eat crackers in my bed anytime! lol! Oh, I'm kinda leanin' towards chocolate cupcakes with cream cheese icing now. There's a real yummy looking recipe for that in this new Cooking Light book I got.

*OK,OK I go t one!!! My plans for this coming year might be........to get married!!! Yep! you read that right!! Maybe, we'll see!! ha!!!! Jack's about talked me into it! Just kidding, he hasn't had to talk me into anything. I'm just kinda gun-shy!!!

* Now, ya'll realize it's gonna take a few days for me and Jack to eat through these cupcakes and find the coin. Well, unless by chance we hit it on the first one! Anyway, ya'll bear with me!

*OK, I'm up, well, I've been up for some time actually, but anyway, I'll be posting the cupcakes soon with everybody's name on them. I may have to get Allen to help eat these things! I got about 19-20 names I think. This may take a day or so or three! Jack is sick so I'm having to take care of all the animals and I'm firing and have several other things to do today. LOL! But I'll be back soon!

A Cold But Sunny Day

2012-01-02T23:06:00.000-06:00

This is the creek that marks the border of my property on one side. It runs alongside the driveway for a bit as you first come in. Then the drive turns sharply to the left and runs alongside a smaller creek or stream really. I need to do some cleaning and clearing so you can see the water better as you drive in. It's very lovely. Every morning, after I do the second check and feeding of the chickens, Chigger and I go for a walk down the drive, all the way to the road. It's not quite a quarter mile round trip. On nice days I like to sit by the creek for a bit and let it talk to me. There's an old saying around here that, 'there's a lot of wisdom in a fire'. Meaning I think, the peace and insight conjured up by the mesmerizing quality of flame would lead one to at least a few decent thoughts. By that same measure, I think there's a lot of wisdom in a creek also.

And every day Chigger finds a stray limb down by the gate and carries it all the way back to the house. I figure if I take her on enough walks she may get that whole end of the drive cleaned up. Most of them are good for kindling so I break them up to put by the stove.

Today was what we would call 'brisk'. A stout wind blowing and very clear, cold air. I hope the wind dies down tomorrow.
Most all of the holiday festivities are over so it was back to the grindstone today. It's a pleasant grindstone though. You can't much beat working by a nice warm woodstove making art that people are actually buying!
And speaking of art and festivities....Ya'll know I adhere to the 12 Days of Christmas right? Well, most of the celebrations are over but the one last biggy is coming up; 12th Night! or Epiphany. Traditionally it is a night for partying and eating and such but I live out in the boonies and it falls on a Thursday this year, so....I am going to have a 12th Night Party here, on the blog. Now, usually you would bake a King's Cake or similar and inside the cake is a coin or bean. Whoever gets the coin or token in their slice is crowned "king" and is supposed to have good luck that year. There are many variations to this depending on your denomination or heritage. Anyway, you all come by here Thursday and leave a comment. I will bake something that can be divided up. I thought about cupcakes but Jack and I have eaten so many sweets and such I may use something else. Now, whatever it is, it will have a coin inside and I will put a little flag on each section for every person that leaves a comment. Maybe I'm explaining this right. Anyway, as we eat whatever this is, we will come across the coin and if your name is on the corresponding flag, you win one of my mugs! and the coin! Some of you may be more excited about the coin I know, but anyway, I thought it would be fun! And who knows, there might be some other goody thrown in.

I will accept names from 6 a.m. to midnight Thursday and then start the flagging and eating Friday. And yes, I will show ya'll the baked product with all the little named flags before the chowing begins. Fun, Fun!!! I will probably have 2 or 3 mugs that you can even choose from.
Oh, the picture above is of the spring overspill and the watercress that grows there. I guess the recent bout of warm weather has brought it forth. I picked some today and was amazed to taste it was already hot! Normally it stays mild until the weather gets really warm.
So, don't forget Thursday!!!!

Startin' A New Year!

2011-12-31T23:40:00.000-06:00

Well, the weather around here for the past couple of days has just been drop dead gorgeous, so I couldn't waste any of it by staying inside. Piss on the pottery, I had to do some gardening! But it wasn't just for the sake of good weather. There is a big cold front coming and I really needed to get some stuff ready for that. They are predicting lows around 18 degrees several nights. Now, for us that's cold! Sweetie Jack raked a bunch of pine straw for me and made piles in the garden so all I had to do was mulch around whatever plants I wanted. So, I pruned and mulched the blueberries (on the left). I have 4 blueberry bushes now and a few herbs planted between them.

I pruned and mulched the raspberries too. Yes, I know you can't really see much but some types of raspberries you are supposed to cut all the way to the ground. I'm still learning on these things. I also applied another layer of enriched topsoil around them before I mulched. They did pretty good this past year but I want more!!! To the right you can see a couple of cabbage plants and some leeks. They are doing well and in that seemingly empty space above them is 2 new kinds of garlic. I really hope they do good. Over to the left is my strawberry bed but I think I'm going to order a new type this spring that is better suited for this climate.

This is a handy thing I wanted to show ya'll! Jack put this up for me after I described to him what I wanted. And yes, I do sometimes let him build things on his own! I found this old discarded mailbox and had seen in a book how you can turn them into a kinda toolbox for your garden. It was his idea to add the hose bracket, which also works good.

I just cram all kinds of things in here and it all stays perfectly dry. Pruners, clippers, gloves, string and so on. It's very handy to have it right in the garden and not have to keep running back to the shed or whatever to get stuff.

So, I had intended on doing one of those end of the year synopsis kinda things but haven't got around to it yet. I might still. I also had a new year's goals post in mind so we'll see! I wish you all the best for the new year. May you find everything you are hoping for.

Enjoying The Last Of The Year

2011-12-30T10:54:00.000-06:00

The weather has been quite mild around here lately and everybody has been enjoying the warm sun! Nights are cold enough to keep a fire going though. I told Jack yesterday that I certainly appreciate these days in the 50 degree range but I would like to see a little snow this year too. Anyway, we have been taking advantage of the sunny days by having a little fun. It being the last week of the year, and in keeping with some traditions of the 12 Days of Christmas, we have taken time to visit with friends and just enjoy some time to ourselves instead of working so much. We went to the city yesterday to see some of the decorations before they take them down and just see what there was to see. We've enjoyed a couple of dinners out and taken advantage of the good sales to get a few things. For instance, I bought a stoneware bread pan (for baking) that I have had my eye on for some time. It is environmentally friendly and made in the US and, I got it for $10!

Soon enough it will be time to get back to business as usual though! We need to harvest about half of the meat chickens soon. Real soon. They are eating us out of house and home! We have learned quite a bit having these though so I know if we have them again I will definitely do some stuff differently. We underestimated how long it would take them to mature for one thing. It's been about 14-16 weeks instead of the 6-8 that you read about. They have also grow at vastly different rates. Some are well past time to harvest and some are still a couple of weeks out. I don't know. We have fed them well and they get a vitamin supplement in their water. In addition to the natural feed they did have grass to eat, which they devoured in no time. After they mowed all that down I have taken to going each day and digging up clumps of grass for them and putting it in their run. This gives them the greens they like and something to do so they don't get so bored. They love digging and scratching through the clumps. I also harvest spare leaves off the broccoli and chard (and whatever else I can think of) for them. Jack even grows sprouts for them! I believe next time I will grow a whole crop of greens, like collards or such, just for them in the garden and then throw them so much a day to supplement the grain. If we only get them in cooler weather I would have plenty of room in the garden for this.

They LOVE chard, broccoli, cabbage, anything like that. By selling some eggs at $2.50 a dozen and letting the hens out to forage all day, we are pretty much covering our feed costs for the hens. I have even had some people insist on giving me $5 a dozen for the eggs so that helps to cover some of the cost of these meat chickens. Not much but some. Once all of the hens are laying consistently (selling 5-6 dozen eggs a week) I believe I could completely make up the cost of feeding the meat birds, with the addition of growing a crop of greens just for them.
So, it's all a learning experience and each year you learn more and more to refine your operations. I have been very pleased with the amount of poop these guys are producing too, which goes right into the garden, which helps greatly to produce more crops! We are finally beginning to see success in this cycle of things and it's great! A permaculture system is really what we are going for.
I am waiting to hear if I will go back to the construction job after the first of the year, as the plan was. In a way I hope they don't call! But, I could use the money.
Now that Christmas is over I suspect the pottery orders will slow down some but I think I have made headway into that cycle also. As your work becomes more well known you can develop better sales all year 'round, rather than just at holidays when people are buying anything! As soon as I finish, one way or another, that welding job I can focus on getting more places to carry my work and therefore more revenue from that coming in. 2012 looks to be a very promising year!

On Christmas Day

2011-12-25T17:32:00.000-06:00

Merry Christmas! Happy Holidays! or Joyeux Noel!! to everyone! I hope you have all are having an enjoyable holiday season whatever your practices or beliefs. I finally had time this year to actually make a wreath! From greens I gathered about my land, of course. Hehe! I have always enjoyed the practice of decorating with evergreens and whatever grows around the area. Even the chicken coop got a wreath! I'll have to try to get a photo of that.

Today has been a very quite, laid back day for me and Jack. We visited with family yesterday and decided to spent today at home. We don't do a lot of gifts but did get each other a couple of things. I got him, at his request, a Kindle. I don't really see the allure of those things but he seems to be getting a big kick out of it. I got a Le Creuset brasier (5 qt. I think)! I am stoked!! I got my range hooked up and now have to decide on what appropriate dish to cook in it!
I'm cooking a nice dinner for tonight and then we'll watch It's A Wonderful Life. I wish you all peace and happiness and much love.

The Night Before Christmas

2011-12-24T21:41:00.001-06:00

'Twas the night before Christmas, when all through the kitchen

Not a creature was stirring, not even Basement Chicken.

The stockings were hung by the fireplace with screws

In hopes that Jack would notice the cues.

The chickens were nestled all snug in their coop

And I was trying hard not to step in their poop.

And Jack in his T-shirt and I in my slip

Had just settled down for some nog and some lip

When out in the woods I heard such a ruckus

I fell off the couch and landed on my tuckus!

Away to the door I hobbled kinda quick

Flung open the same and stepped on a stick.

When what to my blurry eyes should appear

but a big goofy bloodhound and eight giant deer!

With a yip and a yalp and a howl so loony

I knew in a moment, it must be stupid Ernie!

More thunderous than cattle, here they all came

I cursed and shouted and called him such names

You dumbass, you stupid, you lousy ol' cur!

I'll beat you, I'll choke you (just joking)

if you don't get outta hur!! (that's redneck vernacular)

So up through the valley they all did run

With Chigger in hot pursuit

If only I'd had my gun.

But I did hear him yelp as he ran out of sight

and I laughed at the thought of how Chigger can bite!

So Merry Christmas to all and to all a good night!

O Christmas Tree

2011-12-23T00:17:00.000-06:00

Many of you that have read my blog for a while know that I'm always a bit later than most in getting my tree put up. I don't follow the norm anyway, as far as societies traditions go and prefer to stick closer to our ancient traditions of Solstice or Yule. Therefore, my tree gets put up right around that first day of winter but it stays up until Epiphany or 12th Night as I do celebrate the 12 Days of Christmas from the Christian view.
I know I had previously also mentioned that the little corner stand where I normally get my tree had sold out before I could get down there this year, leaving me facing a bit of a conundrum. I knew where another lot was that sold trees but they were expensive there and I could really use that $70-80 somewhere else right now; I am laid off. Plus, the trees had been shipped from quite a distance and did I really want to participate in that? I mean, I preach this buy local, buy local etc. all the time. Or perhaps, not buy at all? Shouldn't I practice what I preach? Of course, I should. This left me with really only one solution if I wanted a tree. Cut a local one and preferably from my own land. I mean, I do have about 18 acres. There are lots of trees on that much land.

But let's back up just a little shall we? Say....30-35 years or so. You see, the only evergreens that grow in this part of Alabama are either pines or cedars. Now, when I was a child we always had a cedar tree. They grew prolifically on our land and if we couldn't find a suitable one there, our neighbors would always welcome us to look on their land for one to cut. From what I remember we always had a good time, going out to choose the tree. Sometimes we would even hitch the horse to a little sleigh-like contraption we had. We would all ride on the way over and then let the tree ride back to the house so it would not get torn up from being dragged. And we were happy with our cedar tree...until we got older. Then we began to see what other people had and what they had in town and our little minds began to turn and we began to think that maybe what we had wasn't good enough. And sure enough, it wasn't long before the unspoken truth crystallized in our minds. Cedar trees were what poor people had for Christmas trees. Now, we were by no means wealthy but we were not what I would call poor, but God knows, Christmas is certainly THE time to keep up all those appearances, so we confided to our parents that we needed a "bought" tree. You know, one of the real Christmas trees, the Frasier firs, even a Douglas fir! Anything but the homely, scrawny little "corndogs" as we so derisively began to call the cedars. I suppose in the spirit of the season, or the spirit of just getting us to shut up, our parents went along with us and from then on we had our bought tree. Smug in our self satisfaction and conformity we all carried this on into adulthood and I must sadly admit it has been my one weakness, my one last holdout in my personal Christmas vigil against the rampant consumerism. Boycott Black Friday? Of course! Handmade presents? Certainly! Have a local, native, unendangered tree? Uuhhh, I think I smell the ham burning, excuse me please...Oh, I've used every excuse in the book; 'the firs are so pretty and they look like what a Christmas tree is supposed to look like!' 'I'm supporting a local merchant by buying one' and on and on and on. But it all comes back to that little unspoken suggestion I learned as a child by observing, a little too closely, what other people have. Cedar trees are what poor people have for Christmas trees. In all of my unconventional life spent thumbing my nose at what society thought, I could not admit to myself my true aversion to this simple thing. This simple and stupid thing.

Why? Well, I reckon you'd have to go back even further into the Southern mind and history to find that answer. My guess would be that the South and it's people have far too long had their faces rubbed in their lacking. Yes, things are catching up now but when I was a child the spectre of poverty still hung over most country folk like the pendulous moss in our ancient oak trees. The appearance of having more than enough was very important. Spare change to see a movie or indulge in the luxury of ice cream. Not much to most city folk but it meant something to us. So, being able to go out and buy a 'real' tree, as opposed to having to cut one you find in the woods, meant that you were doing okay, that you were not some country bumpkin that just didn't know any better. It's a silly thing I know; you don't have to tell me. But as Chigger and I hiked through the woods last week, just looking mind you, it occurred to me just how easily our society can take such a silly thing and twist and fold it into a spectacle ranking right up there with the whole idea of Christmas itself. Yes, we are celebrating the coming of The One whose birth was so lowly even a occupied cattle stall would do but don't you dare drag that trash tree into my house!! I can see the designers of Southern Living passing out now! Somebody get the vapors!!

So, come this past Monday I requisitioned Jack and we trekked up the side of the mountain to where I had earlier spied a somewhat stately cedar tree. Well, as stately as they can be...and we cut it down. Lacking the horse, he drug it back to the house but that's one good thing about cedars, they are much lighter than the firs and they don't shed! Very little anyway. I still had a number of pottery orders to get out so it took me until yesterday to find the time but then I decorated it as a cold rain fell heavily outside. Rain, not snow. This is the South after all, where cedars and pines are our evergreens.

Now, were certain people to come to my house for Christmas I know I'll be teased about this tree. It's scrawny. I mean, you can practically see right through it. The lights don't sit on it quite right but then, lots of things don't sit on me quite right either. But it's real and it's appropriate. I am poor, by most of society's standards. Dirt poor. I've got bare plywood floors for goodness sake! But I have my life firmly in my own grasp, not loaned out to some bank or faceless corporation and if I want to take the rest of the year off to relax and enjoy this holiday season, as we should, I can.

But most importantly, as I gaze into the tree's golden light, I can see the reflections of so many family members, now passed on, in the shiny decorations and I can hear their laughter and I remember a time when we had so much fun dragging a scrappy ol' cedar tree into the house. And we didn't pay a dime for it.

Silent Sunday (well, not really)

2011-12-18T22:37:00.002-06:00

We've been getting some hard frosts but the broccoli is taking it all in stride and growing. Supposedly it can take down to around 20 degrees F.

Full occupancy! First time I've seen this!

Ms. BeaBea hiding out in the dusting box. She's been molting so she's been keeping a low profile. She almost seems embarrassed by what she looks like and doesn't want anybody to see her. Bertha has been kind enough to stay with her and keep her company though. They are the two oldest hens and pretty tight friends.

Interesting rock. These are all over my land and range from golf ball size to truck size.

Overdue Update

2011-12-16T12:05:00.000-06:00

I had thought I might get some rest while I was "off work", so to speak, but things just keep piling up and multiplying. On a good note, I am almost finished with all the orders for pottery and am now just making whatever I feel that people might like. Small stuff mostly; pie plates, mugs, small bowls and such. I have been so busy with this! The kiln often does not even completely cool before another load is ramping up. That's good though!
Unfortunately there is usually bad to go with the good however. About a week or so ago I noticed one of the smaller meat chickens was out standing in a mud puddle, covered head to toe in mud and grime. I had just been out to check on them about a half hour earlier so he hadn't been there long but he was obviously not well. I have seen how vicious some of these chickens can be to the smaller ones and suspected one of the big ones had stomped on him a bit. I actually saw a big one grab one of the smaller ones one day, by the nap of the neck, and sling that poor little chicken halfway across the pen. Although I think it's a horrible practice, I can see why they sedate these chickens in a commercial environment. 5,000 of these monsters crowded in one place and you would have half of them dead in no time. Anyway, I scooped the little feller up in a towel and took him into the basement where I gave him a warm bath and set him by the stove to dry. Chigger came in to warm too and they hung out for a while. It was apparent that the bird was messed up though and I wasn't sure what to do. After a while he started to eat and drink but he couldn't stand up and was very quite.

The next day I noticed that another one was staying in the coop house and wouldn't come out. Upon investigation I saw that it was having trouble walking but seemed fine otherwise. This breed just has issues with their joints and tendons and this one's knee joint wasn't working well, so I brought it in to keep the other one company. I gave him a bath too and he seems to really enjoy being a basement chicken! He just chattered and talked the other one's head off. I tried all kinds of treatment on the first chick but it just couldn't seem to recover. It would eat but got to where it would not drink. It could sit up, like you see here, but could only take a step or two and was always unbalanced and teetering around. I suspect one of the bigger ones damaged it's neck maybe? I hoped and tried so hard to help him recover but it just started to get worse and I was afraid the little guy was suffering, so I put it down. The other, bigger one seemed to miss his buddy but is doing well now. He stays near my pottery wheel while I'm working and chatters to me and Chigger, or whoever else may be around. He has a VERY good appetite and eats well. I have been massaging a healing oil into it's knee joints in an effort to keep him mobile. We'll see. I told Jack I feel kinda like the witch in Hansel and Gretel; "Here my sweetie, eat this so you'll get plump and juicy!"
And so, in more bad news, our sweet Emily (a young laying hen) died yesterday. She was a good little Leghorn hen that had just started laying. I never noticed anything to be wrong with her; she seemed the picture of health. I went out to check on how many eggs we had and saw her on the nest, which is normal. But she had her eyes closed. I thought this was odd but when I petted her she stood up and clucked at me so I went back to the studio for a while. I went back out maybe 45 minutes later and she was dead, laying in that same nesting box. It's so hard to tell if a chicken is sick. I examined her body but couldn't find the first mark or swollen spot or anything on her. I mean, gushing blood or not eating or spitting up you can tell, but otherwise it's baffling. So, we buried 2 chickens in 2 days. I can take a good many things in life but I can't bear to see an animal hungry, sick or miserable. I think we try to take care of ours the best we can but sometimes stuff still happens.

Today is a rainy, dreary day but it's not cold at least. Some of the production rush is over so it is a slightly lazy day. I'll do a little more throwing today as the kiln cools off, keeping BC (basement chicken) company. If the rains slacks off a little we might go walkabout to find a Christmas tree. I noticed that the little corner market where I normally buy one has sold out, so, looks like this may be a homegrown Christmas for real! I might even make out some of my Christmas cards and do a little shopping online tonight while somebody else is occupied with reading or such. Tomorrow looks to be a nice day. I must go into town to deliver yet another load of pottery and while we're there we thought we'd check out a couple of holiday markets and just generally piss around and enjoy ourselves. Have a nice lunch somewhere; that sort of thing. I'll try to get some photos!

Two Hands

2011-12-07T09:35:00.001-06:00

During the past few years many of us have seen a huge surge in interest and production of handmade items. Some of it due to disgust and revolt of the rampant, mass-produced hysteria of consumerism and some of it is simply due to unemployed people trying to make a living the best way they can. As someone who has made a living with their hands for most of my life, there are several false notions out there that I would like to address so that if there are others out there considering crafts or such as an income source, that they would not be discouraged by people who have no idea what they're talking about spouting a bunch of crappola.
1. You can't make a living with art/ crafts in a bad economy. Well, I tell you, going by the number of orders I'm getting for my work right now, I'd never know things were not good in this country if I didn't read the news. Yes, I understand that it is the holiday season and people are buying more and it will drop off after the first of the year but.....people are buying. If you make a good quality product and market it in the correct area, people will buy it. You might have to make smaller items, as I have had to do, but you will sell lots of these. My big, expensive casseroles are not moving, at all, but I am overrun with orders for small dessert bowls, soup bowls, mugs etc. and am bringing in a substantial amount of money from that. People are fed up, for the most part, with cheap crap from China and are looking for an alternative. These are the people you want to focus on and find. Forget about the rest. They wouldn't appreciate your work if they had a million dollars because some people just do not get handmade.
2. I'd never be able to make enough money off it to pay for my time. Now, if somebody is using this excuse simply because they don't really want to try to market their stuff, then fine. However, if anybody really believes this, then I'd have to call bulls**t on ya. It all comes down to where and to whom you market your work. Yeah, if you go to flea markets and crap trying to sell handmade sweaters for what they are actually worth then people are going to laugh you out of the place. BUT, if you market your work through high-end consignment shops, galleries or other alternative markets you are likely to find many customers. There are still lots of people out there with money and who usually appreciate hand made. Now, it must be of very good quality. Lots of people nag me about how picky I am on my work. I cull my work and a defect means I have more stuff to make mosaics out of, if you get my drift. Bring out the ol' hammer! You must be ruthless in judging your work. You may also have to go cities 100 miles (or more) away but if you can find a place or places who will accept a large enough inventory then it can be worth the drive. If you choose to do craft shows, only do the ones that insist on jurying the work and I personally never do one if the entry fee is below $75. This insures most all the entries are going to be from serious artists and craftspeople and you are not going to have to deal with somebody next door selling foam lizards on a stick. (been there, done that.)
I know a number of successful craftspeople who make their living solely from their art, so it is possible. One fellow, who lives not far from me, makes furniture and has for most of his life. Now, one chair or small table can go for $2,000- 8,000, so it is art, not just any ol' stick chair. But he makes his living with it. Yes, he has to travel and be very selective about where he shows but once you make a bit of a name people will begin to seek you out.

The thing is, even if you just make quilted potholders or clay jewelry; if your craftsmanship is good and it is a quality product, there are places and people who would love to carry your work. Think big, forget the flea markets. The environment in which works are shown determines their value. That doesn't seem right but it is so, I guarantee you. Don't sell yourself short. Don't be shy. Most shop owners are happy to look at stuff because they are always looking for that great new product or artist. I will say one thing though; don't lug a giant box into their store or gallery without asking first. Many galleries ask that you submit your work electronically these days but you can walk in and ask about their submission policies.
And of course, online is okay too but I find that most people still want to hold the object in their hand before purchasing when it comes to craft. I do sell some work online but for the most part, in person is the way to go.

Free Bird

2011-12-04T08:21:00.001-06:00

Well, of course they are not completely free but for them, it's close. The Cornish Rocks are doing pretty well but bless their little chicken hearts, they are dumb as a box of hammers. However, they are happy as little 2-legged clams when they get out on the grass and get to run around and scratch a little. It thrills their soul to be out in the sunshine too. They are the first to storm out of the coop at dawn and the last to go in at night well after dark. I hope their short little lives are enjoyable in a chicken kinda way. I would like to let them roam the yard but since they are not the sharpest knife in the drawer, we are afraid they may not be able to find their way back to the coop at night.
Thanks for all your comments on the last post. It's all kinda funny sometimes when you think about how people are and that mainly, most people just don't think about how or why they live. I have taken a bit of heat over these chickens too. How could I be so CRUEL as to raise these precious things and then eat them? But, it's somehow okay to eat chickens that come from a store that never see the light of day or a blade of grass and that are abused their whole lives. Go figure. I'm not trying to be a smartass really; it's just kind of astounding that people never think about that. And I know that what they often mean is, how can I personally, end these creatures lives? Well, it's not easy. Jack and I don't enjoy doing that. But it's a burden I'm willing to shoulder in order to not participate in the horrid abuse of other creatures.

So, on to better subjects! We got our first double yolked egg! Bea lays enormous eggs and it was one of hers. After I first started advertising about selling eggs I wasn't sure if it was going to work. Several days went by and I got no response at all. So, I emailed a few more people and now I'm flooded with people that want them. You what's funny though? The rural people around here where I live don't want them. You would think that these would be the people that would understand the benefits of homegrown eggs but other than Fred and Allen, nobody will touch them. The people that want them are the city folk and they are even telling me I should be charging $4-5 /dozen! I'm not going to do that necessarily; we just wanted to make up our feed cost. So far we are only getting about 5-7 eggs a day but hopefully all 12 hens will be laying soon and there will be more coming in. After talking to some of the people who were really excited to get the eggs I'm thinking that maybe I cold expand a little. Maybe start my own little teeny CSA. I don't know, it's something to think about. I know one lady was real excited to hear that I have meat birds and was very interested in perhaps buying some. We just got them for us; I didn't really think people would buy them but I guess it all depends on the people you market to.
Well, I've got bread to bake and pottery to make so time to get off this computer!
I hope ya'll are having a great weekend!

Cold Days To Come

2011-12-01T09:50:00.001-06:00

We didn't get any snow the other night but it has turned considerably colder since then. As you can see, Chigger's favorite rope toy was a little stiff this morning! She played with it anyway though. That dog is a never-ending source of amusement. If people could be so content with such simple pleasures we would all be much better off. There was such a heavy frost last night that when I awoke this morning it almost looked like it had snowed. I thought it would be a good morning for a little walkabout and Chigger is always agreeable to such. She knows the word 'walk', so you have to be careful saying it in front of her. She starts jumping and dancing around in anticipation. she has free run of the place but won't go down the drive or some other places by herself so she really gets excited if she thinks you are going to take her down to the creek.

In the colder months it takes a little while before the sun begins to peep inside the house as it first must make it up over the ridge behind me. Once it's over though, the sun floods into the house.

The creek is up a good bit right now due to the recent rains and it normally runs a little more during the winter. I was trying to get some good shots and I just happen to find another piece of broken ceramic in the water. It has a beautiful rich, green glaze on it. I think it's curious that I find so many pieces of broken pots in this creek.

So, I think I'm getting back into the blogging swing. I have to make another small confession. I had gotten a bit discouraged while working out of town and had not felt as much a connection to the whole homesteading/ sustainability thing. I think I did okay considering that I was living in a hotel, but it's very difficult to maintain a certain lifestyle in that environment and work schedule. But mainly, people are by far the most discouraging aspect of the whole thing. Now, my guys at work tease me unmercifully about eating tofu and all that but we have a lot of fun and I don't mean them when I say people are discouraging. A few of them even told me over the course of my time there how lucky I was to be able to live like I do and not be a slave to a corporation. But it's just the general attitude of the public and the white collar people that we interact with in the course of our work. I was not prepared for that, especially in a university setting. I don't go around telling people how I live because I know by now it is considered very weird but I will say a little something if someone asks me. And people will ask because they know I only work at times and they see this or that. I had a few ask me about how I ate and they just laauuughed, like I had told the funniest joke. I'm sitting there thinking, "what did I say that was funny?" They scoff and snicker a little if I said I would be glad to finish my work and go home. Their eyes bugged out and they sputtered incomprehensibly when I said I didn't shop at Wal-Mart. Or they would just stare at you and kinda slink off, like I had something contagious. Over the past few years that I have been really trying to live with more of a conscience, I have been called various, unflattering names. I've been accused quite often of thinking that I am better than everyone else. (This makes no sense to me) And like I say, I generally don't talk about stuff unless someone asks. Guess I should stop doing even that. Anyway, I guess it kinda got to me and I began to think, "Is what I do really of any importance? Does it make any difference at all? Is there really any point to any of this sustainability stuff?" Well, coming home, of course, reassured me that it does make a difference, even if just to me. And I realize that people who make fun or criticize others for trying to do right are only doing it to cover their own guilt or shortcomings they feel and are not willing to face up to. Well, really this is a whole 'nother post, as I often say but I had to write a little about that. It just confounds me that people will be so ugly to others when it really doesn't make a hill of beans to them what I do. Do any of you ever encounter these issues, or is it just something about me?

Ten Green Bottles

2011-11-28T21:35:00.001-06:00

The other evening I spent a bit of time putting up and organizing many of the herbs I have grown over the summer and had drying. Wooo! the excitement of my life is just too much sometimes I know! I take it a little at a time so I won't be overwhelmed with it, you know? lol! Anyway, I have been working from the beginning here to grow as many medicinal and culinary plants as I can and have a fair collection going now. Most of them are perennial, so once established I really don't have to worry about them anymore. Just make sure I harvest and dry plenty before winter to make it through. I ran through my clear jar collection before I ran out of herbs, so I must go searching for some more jars. Ooh, and I made some way cool labels for the jars on Word and printed them out on individual stickers. You can kinda see if you enlarge the photo. If you have any available dirt it just makes so much sense to grow your own, rather than buy all these herbs. Most are super easy to grow and of course, fresher if they are just outside your door, therefore the taste is always superior. As of now I grow or wild harvest peppermint, catmint, catnip, lemonbalm, passionflower, feverfew, echinacea, dill, parsley, vitex, oregano, basil, chives, sage, mountain mint, beebalm, lavender, red clover, thyme and probably a few more. I use these for cooking and teas, usually medicinal or just relaxing. For example, sage tea is a great cough suppressant. I hope to add many more herbs to my collection in years to come.
I thought it would be funny to label a few jars Eye Of Newt, Bat Wings or some such because it never fails that when newcomers see my pantry they say, "wow, are you some kind of witch?" At least, I think that's what they're saying......witch? b......? Anyway! It cracks me up that so many people think that if you use stuff like this you're like, "really out there"! woooowoooo and all that. Pfft! Of course, I guess in all fairness, the animal skulls laying around don't really help my rep but they are just decorations. Seriously.

Hey!! We are supposed to get snow tonight! Snow!! in November in Alabama? Must be that global warming... Really, I don't believe I ever remember it snowing this early in my time. Hey, I think I said that last year around the first week of December?? Hhhhmmm.

You Talk

2011-11-26T08:49:00.001-06:00

I've know I've rambled on lately about how busy I've been and bad connections and such, and that has definitely been the case, but I have a small confession to make too. I've been a little burnt out on blogging lately. I think it's been a combination of all the above and well, sometimes you just run out of things to say, I think. Any natural conversation ebbs and flows and I look at blogging as a bit of a conversation. But don't ya'll feel like you're going to disturb me if you ramble on at me a bit or ask questions or just have stuff you want to say! And I think ya'll know that often times, when I have stuff brewing in my head, it takes me a little while to put it into words. I think working out of town, away from my home, has made me confront how differently I live (and how different my belief system is) than most people and that has thrown a lot of thoughts into my head.
I'm sorry that I have not always answered ya'll's comments lately either. I appreciate your feedback very much but really did often have trouble getting online while out of town and then by the time I got home I would forget or such. But I'm back now and am trying to remedy that.

I have also not been making the rounds of your blogs as much either. This is simply due to time constraints, I swear. By the time I got home I had so much to cram into two days that I just didn't have much time for reading. I also know there are some blogs I read that are not on my blog roll and some old ones that need removing. I hope to update all that soon. I will admit though, due to time constraints, I have narrowed my blog list down to those mostly dealing with homesteading or similar. Plus, I don't know if it's been the routine of hard work again or what but I have been quite motivated to finish many projects around here lately and have been working on that. I plan to start the kitchen soon; just as soon as I can get these pottery orders out to the stores, so that will cut back on some 'Net time. But I am still out here!
I know ya'll are probably sick of chicken pics but ya'll also know I hate to put up a post without photos! and, I couldn't remember if I ever showed ya'll the nesting box arrangement we built. It has worked well I think. We have 5 boxes for the girls and they have all taken to them great! We put a fake egg in each one but I don't know that we really needed to. I was concerned since we let the chooks out in the yard for the day but they all come back to the house when they get the urge and lay in the box. Most of the young hens are laying now so we are getting lots of eggs. From right to left is Sylvia, Pretty Hen and way down you can just see Emily's butt sticking out. The cage area beneath is for when we get bitties. They stay in there and have a hatch out to their own yard so they are never mixed with the big chickens. Oh, if there are any local people that might want fresh eggs we are selling them now. Just email me or such if you would like to purchase or stop by if you see the gate open. They are $3 a dozen or $2.50 if you bring your own carton. Of course, they are fresh and completely free range. No drugs, hormones etc.

I might sell a couple of these too, when they reach harvesting age. They are much more active than I thought they would be. They can fly and jump around and enjoy roosting. I like to see them snoozing in the sunshine. They seem to enjoy that so much.
Okay, so back to work! I don't think my kiln has cooled off for the past 3 days and won't for another few! That's good though; the money is going towards my kitchen cabinets!

Fowl Weather

2011-11-23T22:09:00.001-06:00

Happy Thanksgiving Everyone!! However you celebrate, I hope today finds you in good company with a full belly. I am very thankful to be home on this weekend and to be able to stay home until next year. I am thankful that I did have the work though because of that big box you see sitting on the back on my truck. That is my new stove. They were having a very good sale the other day so I went ahead and bought it. I had been hovering over this thing for about a year now, hoping for a sale or something. It is a Whirlpool Gallery series. Not the Viking that I wish I could have but hey, it looks like a good range! lol! Now, the big push to finish my kitchen begins!!

The meat birds are growing and doing well. I am thankful that I have the land and ability to grow my own healthy, clean food. Jack sowed an adjoining pen with grass for them and they are in there today. I'll try to get some pics.

We finally took the big step yesterday and harvested the excessive rooster population here. They were just really getting out of hand as there were just as many roosters as hens. They were eating tons of food and being a general nuisance. It took most of the day but we have 12 chickens for the pot, a bunch of necks for making stock and I saved the livers, hearts and gizzards to make Chigger food. Things are MUCH calmer and quieter this morning. I think the hens are much happier now and it is much easier to keep the coop clean and orderly. We did keep this Rhode Island Red, Rodney, and one other. We'll see how they do. Rodney has a crowing disability. I like that. He basically sounds like a broken squeaky toy. We try not to giggle in front of him.

The broccoli is doing well and already starting to make heads. I have been picking off some of the lower leaves to feed the meat chickens. They LOVE them. I hope they, the broccoli, mature before the really cold weather begins because I am not going to go to the trouble I went last year, building a tunnel over them etc. For what I got it was just not worth it. I would just replant in the spring. So, there's short update for now. I'll try to post on a more regular basis now that I'm home. I've just been swamped with stuff since getting back and trying to get my head above water.

Topped Out!!!

2011-11-14T08:51:00.001-06:00

Actually, we topped out a couple of weeks ago. That is to say, we poured the final roof slab at the highest point of the building. So, according to ancient traditions, we had our Topping Out party to celebrate. I'm serious when I say ancient too. As you can see, we drug a large evergreen up to the top of the building and strapped it in place and placed the university flag nearby. I thought we should have had an American flag too but we do have those on the cranes. This is an old Scandinavian tradition going back at least 1,000 years. The tradition was brought to the United States several centuries ago and we try our best to keep it going although this is the first full Topping Out party I've ever been to.

Now, due to the time of year, many people would assume that is supposed to be a Christmas tree but it's not. The tree, being an evergreen, symbolises good luck and growth. Actually, it's there to appease the woodland spirits that we may have pissed off when we chopped down the trees to clear this site. But you can't say that in public anymore. LOL! Sometimes the tree will be decorated with streamers.

Anyway, there's lots of speechifying by several people that really have nothing to do with the job actually getting built (except for Daddy Rabbit) and food. The food was okay. Normally it's pretty good and we stuff ourselves. Then they give away door prizes offered up by tool rental companies and such. That was really good. I won a gift card to Lowe's, a hat and a pair of safety glasses. I gave my hat to one of the fellers that didn't win anything. I have a bunch anyway and it wasn't a style I liked but he did.

So, it was fun and we got off with pay about an hour early. Some jobs you get free lunches several times through the course of the building and some you don't get squat. Just depends on the owners. This will probably be our only free lunch for this one! We had a real pretty day for the party too, which was nice.

So, I have today off because Jack is still out of town and somebody had to be here for the animals but he'll be back tomorrow and I'll go back to work. I am going to cautiously tell you though, that I should be coming home after this week. I'm not going to point fingers or such but it seems that the project managers on the job have let me run out of steel to weld up and they are not willing to pay my wages (their words) to do other, less skilled work. So, I'll be coming home for a break and am supposed to go back after the first of the year when a new batch of steel comes in. We'll see. I'm happy to have the holidays off and this will allow me to catch up on many orders for pottery. I have not forgotten ya'll if you ordered something so bear with me! I am working on it!

Scenes From Home

2011-11-12T21:54:00.001-06:00

Hey Everybody! Didn't mean to be away quite so long but it seems my Internet connection out of town has just about become non-existent unless I take my laptop out somewhere and this past week I just have not had much time. I know, same ol' story. Time at home is packed full of chores and such and just trying to rest a little.

I wouldn't say I've had writer's block also, but I just haven't been able to get my mind around a specific topic to write about either. There has been much to think about lately and the fading of summer to autumn always makes me a bit melancholy too. Things are changing in many ways.

There is a lot of discontent around. Not here mind you. Out in the world it seems though and at work. Things are changing and not all for the good. My valley seems immune and I guess I am reluctant to dwell on things while I am here, lest I bring discontent home with me.

I will tell you more soon however. I guess for now we'll just enjoy the sights of home.

Ya'll know I am at heart a restless soul, although I love my time at home. Not sure where the wanderlust in me comes from; certainly not my parents. Must be from much further back. I suppose the travel with work has stirred the desire to explore once again but without the opportunity to indulge it. Go to work; come back. Repeat.

These leaves have faded now but with the job being a good distance further south, I get to enjoy a second leaf changing when I go back. Funny that 100 miles would make that much difference.

I need to make some established hiking trails in my woods to better enjoy these sites. The deer trails make a good starter trail but need a little clearing to make them less trouble for humans.
Jack is gone to visit family in Texas this weekend so I have the homestead to myself. Feels funny to be here alone now. I couldn't help but to feel my isolation last night as I went downstairs to check the fire. The full moon illuminated the black forest around me and in the not so far distance the coyotes were singing their awful, joyful hunting song. I shivered. I stoked the fire and ran back inside to snuggle in the bed alone. Things will be better in the morning.

Cold November Rain

2011-11-03T17:40:00.000-05:00

Well, I'm on a roll here, posting twice in one week! Unfortunately, it's mainly due to the fact I've come down with a massive case of tonsillitis and had to take the day off. I worked all week with it but when I woke up this morning I was just feeling too bad. The fact I had burned my chest badly again, got something in my eye, so it was swollen and matted up, and got my back acting up again from lifting that heavy steel just didn't help matters either. And it was going to rain and turn cold, which it did. I'm waiting on them to find the drawings for my next project so today would have been a sort of slow day anyway. I hate to sit down here out of town and not get paid but sometimes you just gotta look after yourself or you sure will get run down and injured.
I know from the above description it might sound as though I'm on death's door and I do feel like I've had the hell beat out of me. It's going to take me a few weeks to recover from this excursion when it's over. All of this has really opened my eyes to how radically I have changed my life since being laid off this last time and how differently other people live. It's not that I got soft from not working. I think the well project proves that! It is just a completely different type of life due to being so much in the city I guess. As I've mentioned before, I have tried to eat right while here, and I do for the most part. I buy partly from a local organic grocer and bring food from home but it's not the same always because I can't cook much. I get a lot of good natured teasing from the guys about my lunches and snacks and it is worlds apart from some of that stuff they eat! *shudder* They would die, I guess, if they saw how I eat at home, where I can cook! Now, I do try to cook several meals over the weekend and bring much of it with me to eat during the week but it doesn't last long and I end up eating out once or twice a week, sometimes more. I have to be careful to avoid the city water down here. It is putrid and has given my stomach hell since I've been here. I finally figured out what was doing it and strictly use bottled water, or bring my water in jugs but it was tough back when it was hot because you have to have cold water and they fill our water barrels with the city water.
The air here is awful also. There is a stench over everything as soon as you enter certain parts of town and it really gets to me. I'm so used to my fresh country air. Plus, for some unknown reason, it seems that 80-90% of the population smokes in this town. I have found it rare to go many places without smelling the stench of cigarette smoke and that stuff really bothers me. That and the fumes from welding mess my sinuses up and have caused the tonsil issue.
Well, I didn't mean for this to become a whiny post and I'm sorry if it sounds just like every other post I've done since being here. I have just been surprised at how much of a struggle this has been for me. Not the work but the cultural and social parts I guess. No one lives like I do. It's hard to find recycling facilities and fresh, natural food. Wal-Mart and smoky bars are the big spots to go! The ladies that work at the hotel where I'm staying hold me in curious regard and one has been brave enough to ask me a few questions about what I do. (Due to the hi-viz shirts we are required to wear we are all branded to the public as construction workers and many people avoid us.) From their attitude it seems that maybe they were never taught women could do anything but be secretaries or clean. God help if she ever asks me about how I live at home!
My superiors at work hold me in a curious regard also. They know I didn't ask to come here. They know I have not enslaved my self to a life of servitude (debt) and therefore don't have to work for them. They treat the guys like crap but they know they can only go so far with me or I'll tell them to cram it. And they know I will too. Interesting the extent of the freedom no debt gives you. I do my job and I do it well but I can't help but be a little smug about it and flaunt the fact they don't own me. LOL! Not much though. I still remember the company ours used to be and out of honor to the guys I tow the line, for the most part.
The bottom line is this job has served to reinforce the idea to me that this type of life is nowhere near what I want or will have. There are malls and shopping for anything you would want around here but it holds nothing for me. I admit I have bought a few nice pieces of clothing, on sale, because I got down to not having much in the way of nice things, but other than that, I just mostly stare at the windows and wonder how people can be so obsessed and excited over a new purse? A life of stifling, frustrating hard labor where you only get 2 days a week to do what you enjoy is out also. I want to enjoy every day. I used to enjoy this work; we all did. We talk about how fun the jobs used to be. Micromanagement, bureaucracy, disposable society and the death of common sense has killed all that. It has however, brought to life some images for art that I have had floating in my head for years that would never quite crystallize. They are very clear now. That has been very interesting and I am excited to get home for good to start producing these works. They will be unlike anything I've shown ya'll before.
So, it has been good and bad, as most of life is. I am making some money though and am actively searching now for the stove I want, as my main goal from this is to finish the kitchen. I should be ordering cabinets before too long also. If I get that and get to work with my fellas on a big project one last time then it will be worth it.

Here And There

2011-10-31T20:22:00.000-05:00

Well, I finally got a little time to scratch out a post for ya'll. Things have been so hectic. They have cut out our over-time at work but I have had a few other errands to do after work and my connection is still crappy here. Jack is working on that so maybe it will get better. Right now I am at a local bookstore where I can get a decent connection. Weekends are no time to rest either as I have to play catch up when I get home. One of the stores that carries my pottery has placed a fairly large order for Christmas so I've been working on that in amongst the usual house chores. The bit I got planted in the garden is doing well at least. Each weekend I get a little more of the garden cleaned up and such.
However, Jack and I have made time for some fun here and there. This past Saturday we went to a play and then out to a very nice, cozy meal at a very cool restaurant in Birmingham. It was fun.
Speaking of food; Jack harvested 4 of the roosters. Mainly the white Leghorns. They were not real plump but one of them made a real nice pot of soup that you see here and I see dumplings in the future for another. It was very tasty. Jack is still coming to terms with and sharpening his skills at dressing chickens but he has done well I think.
Not a lot else to report, just busy, busy, busy and to top it all off, the one other welder that might have helped me some at work was involved in a equine accident over the weekend and is so broken up I don't believe he'll be back any time soon. It looks like I'm going to get stuck with all this steel no matter what. They have at least assigned a carpenter to me full time to help me in whatever way I need. He is a real nice guy too and willing to do whatever to help out.
So, I'll try to be back soon and maybe with some better pictures. I haven't even had time to take any and the fall colors will most likely be gone by the time I get home again.

Still Amongst The Living

2011-10-22T23:36:00.001-05:00

Yes, I am still here. I haven't been mashed or givin' up and run off to the circus. Not yet anyway. I have really wanted to post several things lately, visit your blogs and leave comments but for some reason my crummy Internet out of town has deteriorated even further these past couple of weeks. Most evenings I can only get on for a few minutes before it throws me off and then it's just sort of hit and miss getting back on. I did go down to a local Books a Million one night, where I got an excellent and fast connection but, to be honest, I usually just don't have the energy to do that. I have even given up dinner on a few nights, preferring to just shower and go to bed after a quick snack.
There is enough steel work on this job to keep 2 or 3 welders busy but so far they seem to think I can do it all, so they have been throwing it on me pretty heavy and with no help to boot. It takes a little ingenuity to hang some steel by yourself but I have managed it with the help of some equipment. I finally got a small crew to help this past Friday though and we made good progress. So, I've been a little discouraged and disgruntled also. Many on the job feel the same way as I do and are reconsidering their choices of employment. It has just become a lot of bullshit to put it simply. They want everything fast, cheap and right. Well, like the old saying goes, you get to pick two of those items, not all three. Those of us who've been with the company for years want to turn out a good quality product but they make it darn near impossible nowadays. I do not want to participate in this lifestyle anymore. I want to get out before my body is completely worn out and I am discarded by the company as I have seen them do so many before me.
But, I did not mean for his to be a rant, believe it or not. I have just been so tired lately and down and when I get down I don't know what to post. This lifestyle is SO not like what I was doing at home and SO not what I want that it has been a bit of a shock to my system basically. I am managing to still eat good although not my own food for the most part. There is a wonderful organic grocery store in the town that I go to for many things so that helps some but it's not like being at home.

So, just a little update on what is going on here. The chickens are all doing well. These Barred Rocks and the one little blond one on the far right are the four that we hatched in the incubator back in the early summer. They are doing great. The roosters are very handsome. The one hen (Scooter) is doing well but looks a little funny. See, way back when they were bitties, one of the older hens got a hold of Scooter's head and just tore that little chick up. they are mean that way sometimes. We had them in a separate pen but Scooter must have managed to get her head through the wire right when the big hen walked by. It was bad but we nursed her back and she is fine now. Well, for the most part. She doesn't have feathers on part of her head and sometimes seems a little slower, mentally, than the others but they look out for her. At least she doesn't run backwards anymore though. That's why I started calling her Scooter. It must have messed up something in her wiring because she would just be going along and all of a sudden throw it into reverse and take off! She doesn't do that anymore though.

I have managed to get something of a fall garden planted. I planted a few things on the deck in pots as an experiment. This is a lettuce mix. So far so good.

Fall is definitely here now. Our normal first frost is around October 26 but it came about a week or so early this year. We have been keeping a fire going on some nights when it dips into the 30's. The mums are all blooming so pretty. These are all plants that I picked up last year or so when Lowe's puts them on clearance towards the end of the season. I got most of them for a quarter or fifty cents. Yeah, they look like hell then but the next year they always come out real pretty.

I have got broccoli, lettuce and cabbage planted in the garden. That is one last bell pepper plant still hanging on there. My leeks and Egyptian onions are doing really well and I have been harvesting a few here and there when I'm home.

The broiler chicks are doing well and growing fast but these are no 6-8 week birds. I guess they'll be ready at about 10-12 weeks. These are very active and have completely decimated the grass we had planted in their run so we have been letting groups of them out in the chicken tractor to get fresh grass. We still have a couple with leg problems though. Although the majority of these are just fine (it seems) I don't think we'll get these again. And on a very sad note, my little Katsu died. Katsu was the little exotic chick that came with these in the order. They just send you one for free. Katsu was a sweet little chick and would have probably been very pretty. I nursed her back to health after these hybrids just about stomped her flat once and she rebounded well. She was fearless and would jump feet first right in the middle of a pack of these even though they outweighed her by a substantial amount. She got sick with something though, it may have been thrush and couldn't get over it. I tried to nurse her when I came home but she was too weak and didn't make it and then I had to leave Jack to deal with it and a messy house because I had to go back to work. I was upset to say the least. I have already expressed my intention at work to retire after this one. I will not live this kind of life anymore, finished house or not.

Good Ol' Boys

2011-10-06T20:58:00.000-05:00

I know I have pissed and moaned about this job and working out of town, and it has been rough sometimes, but all in all we have a great time. I love working with my fellers. On this day I was taking some photos, during a down time, of the crane hooks for some art work I want to do and I guess Bama (the operator) thought he would help me out, as they are all prone to do, so he lowered it down to the deck so I could get some close up shots. You don't really realize how big those things are until they are next to a man. Well, Steve and Nick saw it as their prime opportunity to cut up and do some camera hogging! We play a little when we can and have a good time raggin' the living hell out of each other but we are like family really. Well, family you get to choose because you enjoy being with each other. There are a number of us staying down here and we get together about once a week to go eat after work. I tell ya, I could call about any one of these guys if I ever needed anything and they would be there to help. The work is harder on me than it used to be but I miss my boys a lot when I'm not working and I will be sad when this job is over because of that. The work is so hard sometimes so you got to play a little when you can, ya know?

Edit:! I meant to tell ya'll this kinda funny related story last night but forgot. So, we are obviously working on the very top floor of the building and we had gone up one morning to get started. It was a little cool, and I was going to be welding, so I had thrown a heavy denim shirt on over my Hi-Viz t-shirt. We normally have to wear a vest if we do that but they can't seem to find me one that won't instantly combust when I start welding and ain't doing that. So anyway, Nick calls for a lift from the crane and Bama says he ain't movin' because he can't see everyone well enough. Two of us have our shirts covered up. Funny how crane operators made thousands of safe lifts for decades without these shirts, but I digress. So, Nick, in his loudest voice, yells over to me, "Hey Annie, take your shirt off!!!!!" Now, there were about 20 Mexican rodbusters up there with us and many of them claim not to speak English but I'll be damned if they didn't ALL understand that phrase. Every one of them stopped what he was doing and turned around to look at me. At first I didn't know what was going on (I wasn't close enough to hear his conversation with Bama) but then he laughed and explained, "Bama won't move until he can see you". So, with great flourish I flung off my over shirt, cussing the whole time of course!

Seasons

2011-10-03T20:23:00.001-05:00

When I stepped out of my truck this past Friday after arriving home I could definitely feel the change of the season. I knew we would be keeping a fire at least one night as it was already quite chilly at sundown.
A few weeks ago Jack had planted the biddy yard with new grass in anticipation of their growing and moving outside. They love it! It took a few days before all of them got the courage to go out but now they run and scratch until they just have to go in.

Of course, they love their feed too but they really enjoy the fresh grass and sunshine. I am happy to see that they appear really healthy and normal so far. They are growing quickly and are already quite heavy for their size. We do have 3 that have legs problems but they get around and insist on staying with the group. We will just have to watch them and make sure they are not suffering.

The pullets from the original group are trying to lay. We have found 2 or 3 of these teeny eggs but haven't spied the young hen in the process.
This week I am really homesick. I don't want to be here. I want to be at home with a warm fire burning and nice food simmering on the stove. But, I just keep reminding myself of what I can do with my earnings. Perhaps I should do some sketches of how I want to finish the kitchen.

Our Country

2011-10-02T08:24:00.000-05:00

Some of the observant souls among you may have noticed over the years that tower cranes always fly an American flag on the very end of their boom. I suppose we have always been a patriotic bunch, even before it was the "in" thing. Well, over time, and due to such high winds at those heights, the flags will become tattered and must be replaced. Ever wonder how they did it? You'll get a much better view if you click on these photos to enlarge them. That's right....one of the fellows goes out there on the end and changes the flag by hand.

Now, it may look as though he is over the deck and therefore, not that high up, but the end of the boom is actually extended past the building, so James is looking about 200 feet straight down. And yes, he is tied off. In fact, we could see that he was tied twice! I don't blame him. The crane trolley has a neat little basket that a person can ride in to get out there and back. The crane operator controls this as he would if he were making a lift. Notice the large hook and tackle for making lifts. On smaller cranes, as most people see, this is an actual ball; quite large and heavy and it is called the "headache" ball. Naturally I had to ask why way back when I was a little apprentice girl. "Well, 'cause if it hits you in the head you're gonna have a headache." If you still have your head, that is.

Speaking of flags and country and all; I guess many of you may have heard about Alabama recently passing most of this new immigration bill. Now, I'm not going to get into the pros and cons of such a thing. That isn't the reason for this post. I just thought the effects of this bill passing have been interesting. To tell the truth, I have not read and studied all the bill enough to form a defensible position. I have read a good bit of it and must say, there is lots I agree with; there's a little I don't. We have a number of Hispanics that work for our company and I have enjoyed working with all of them. Many people I talk to adhere to that old stereotype of the chauvinist Hispanic male (and a few are, just like whites) but they have always treated me well. They are very kind to me and we joke around and have a good time. I have even been invited to some their family events. I do not have any problem with people coming here to make a better life. I do have a problem with some of them doing it illegally and taking advantage of our system. I do also think our immigration laws need a bit of revision so that it is easier for people to become legal residents. All of our Hispanic carpenters are legal and many have lived here for years. They go through our apprenticeship program just like everybody else and do well. They are good men and love this country and I have recently been sad to see a few go back to their homeland because we didn't have enough work to keep them busy. We were beginning to see a drop in the number of Hispanics on our jobs just due to the slow down of the economy anyway, as construction is usually one of the first industries to fall back. So, when it came out Thursday that this bill had passed we were expecting a change Friday and boy, was there ever. Our company is very diligent to hire only legal immigrants. Hell, you should see the background checks they do on us, people born and raised here! However, many of our subcontractors are not so careful. Come Friday, our job was very quite in places. Whole floors were vacant. It was very odd to say the least. At least 6 or the rodbusters had vanished, 6 or 7 of the form crew and I can't even guess how many electricians and mechanical guys. I overheard some of the guys saying that they had expected this and the subs were already sending new crews out. They better be or we are going to suffer some serious delays. I can't help but wonder though, will they be replaced with legal Hispanics or Americans? The fact is, our own people don't want to do this kind of work anymore, so can anybody blame the Hispanics for coming here to get a decent paying job? I don't. We are building a residence hall for a very large university. They have had record number of enrollments these past 2 years but surveys, and the economy, have shown that the actual jobs available for college graduates keep falling. Now, you long time readers know I have a college degree. I have nothing against education. But in my opinion we have just become lazy and want some cushy job sitting inside where we rake in wads of dough. Well, that ain't happening much anymore in many places. We need people to go into the trades. We need society to recognize that the trades are an honorable profession and that you can make a decent living. So, if this new bill leaves us in a bind, well, I can't say we don't deserve it. We've become way too dependent on others for so many things and now it's going to bite us in the ass.

Dead Beat Club

2011-09-27T20:38:00.000-05:00

Well, I kinda hate the direction the blog has gone in. I know it's boring and crappy but I just don't have a lot of time to do many projects around the house so any kind of how-to posts are on the back burner. I do plan to plant a garden for fall but that's probably going to be sporadic. I know many of you are not terribly interested in commercial construction, so I'm trying to limit the number of posts on that subject. So, I'm not sure what to write about and my Internet connection here is still unreliable so when I do feel like writing I sometimes can't get on.
So..........anybody have any ideas or suggestions? I am still reading your blogs when I have time and trying to leave a few comments. Work has become infinitely easier lately so it's not near as rough as when I first came down. I guess I've gotten used to the workload again and welding is easier on me than the other work I was doing. So, tell me what you think if you have any ideas. I don't know. I'm kinda bummed. It's lonely working out of town and boring when you're not at work.

Chicken Run!!

2011-09-25T11:24:00.000-05:00

I'm not sure how clear this video is going to be but maybe ya'll can make sense of it. I thought it was just hilarious how rabid these chooks are to get out in the afternoons. They live for their time out in the yard. So far we have had good luck with letting them out with no fatalities.

Speaking of no fatalities though; these boys will end that streak soon. They have gotten a little too big for their britches lately and are confined to fatten up just a little more. I do not believe I will ever have Leghorns again. They are very aggressive towards the other chickens.

The Cornish Cross chicks are doing well now. We did have 3 to die and it was a bit mysterious. No leg problems, no wheezing, discharge, pasty butt or anything else that might indicate disease or anything. However, Jack did notice that their feed had some larger chunks it in that maybe they were having trouble with so he started sifting their food and we've had no deaths since. We are buying a locally ground natural, non-medicated feed but apparently they also do rabbit food etc. because the larger chunks looked kinda like rabbit pellets (food, not poo). Maybe they don't clean their machines well between batches. We don't know if that was the culprit but they re all doing well now and are surprisingly active.

This one kept staring at me rather pointedly. Perhaps he suspects his fate. I hope not.

They have even begun flying around their cage a little. Well, enough to hop up on the rat sills anyway! We have found all the young chicks like to sit up there for some reason. Their little legs are significantly thicker than regular little chicks and we have only noticed one that might be having a little trouble walking. After we had those 3 die I was beginning to feel like getting these were a mistake but now they seem to be developing normally, just a bit faster than other chicks. We'll see. I'm still a bit skeptical and we are keeping a close eye on how they get around and seem to be getting along. No matter how efficient they are at becoming dinner I still don't want to be raising meat blobs. However, as of now, they seem just like any other chicks as far as activity and curiosity. They jump and fly and scratch. Best they can anyway.

I hope to also get a little bit of the fall garden planted today but I may not. I have a bit of throwing to do to fulfill some pottery orders so that comes first right now.

Rock Around The Clock

2011-09-22T21:05:00.000-05:00

The photos are just some miscellaneous ones I had that are somewhat related to what I wanted to write about tonight. The area shown is where my most recent project has been going on. I know that the world of commercial construction is very far removed from the way most people work so I thought I'd just give ya'll a view of my day. It starts out early enough at about 4:30 a.m. I get up in time to have a good, hot cup of tea and really wake up. I hate to be rushed into my day. I make my lunch and breakfast and am on my way to work by 5:30. One good thing here is that I am only about 15 minutes from work at the most, so I make it there by about 5:45-50. We start work at 6:00 sharp so everybody gets there earlier in order to get their stuff in order and several of us usually sit and eat our breakfast also. We also use the time to begin our daily aggravation and joking on each other.
At 6:00 we have our safety meeting. It used to be you only had those once a week but it has become common to have them every day now, first thing. That lasts about 5-10 minutes and then everybody goes to their assigned job places to shake tools out and get to work. I have been hanging steel in this stairway that you see in the above photo. First, I welded on those short stubs you see on the right, next to the concrete. There are steel plates embedded in the slab that you can't see. This is 7 floors with embeds at each floor. Now, my welding leads only reach about 3 floors, so I have to pull the leads up or down the stairwell to reach the next section. When i run out of leads I pull everything back to the welding machine, roll it up, take the machine over to the buck hoist (if it's running) and take it up or down to the level where i can reach the rest. Now, sometimes I can just put it on the 3rd or 4th floor and just have to move the leads but sometimes I have to take it all the way up or down for other projects. Inevitably, I end up moving the machine at least once a day and pulling those leads all over the place. I know many people have commented on the "condition" of my biceps and shoulders. Well, now you know. They are in the shape they are from 18 years of moving, pulling, carrying, shoving or rolling up leads that weigh 30-40 lbs. each. If I carry them both at once to save time it is a fair load. And I'm also doing this going up and down any number of stairs. So, I just work on this type stuff; welding, carrying, moving, layout etc. until 9:00 a.m. Then we get a 15 minute break if our work allows it. if you have to work through break you can usually make it up later. I know 15 minutes doesn't seem like much but it does help a lot. we get a snack and something to drink, joke around and aggravate each other some more and then go back to work. Now, today, work involved flying steel into place with the crane as I have all the other stuff in place. The other day we were on the inside and the crane flew the steel over to us. I have help doing this. We maneuver the pieces into place and as the crane holds them, i tack weld them well enough that we can cut him loose and he'll go pick another. After we get all the pieces hung, I'll come back by myself and hard weld everything according to the drawings.

When I'm welding near the edge I wear a harness, in addition to the welding jacket, etc, and tie off to these clever devices. They pour them into the tops of each column and are left in place until all outer work is over. They are very handy. There is a handrail there, as you can see, but I often have to stand on a ladder to reach what I'm welding and if you do that you must be tied off.
So, we just keep working until 12:00 noon. Then we get a 30 minute lunch. It's enough time to rest up but not long enough that you don't want to go back to work. You don't loose your momentum, so to speak. Today we were hanging steel with the crane but we had to be up on the outside of the building in a lift in order to maneuver it correctly. There were 2 of us in the basket and one guy inside to hand me the leads etc. and help hold. This type work is a little scarier because the operator is flying the steel right over us and then lowers it down to us. We use a special clamp of the steel called a "plate dog". It basically bites the steel as long as there is pressure or weight on it and releases when the tension eases and the rigger flips a safety latch. You have to use these when straps would get caught behind the steel once it was set. It does cross your mind when that steel is over you that if that plate dog fails you will probably die or be severely injured.
So, normally we would roll up at 2:30 but we are working 10 hours a day so we keep going until 4:30. We are allowed to go get a Coke or something around 2;30 or 3:00 and of course, we can get water or take a bathroom break any time work allows. Sometime you have to plan these things if you are working in the air or on a lift. So, same ol' work until about 4:15 and then it's time to get tools up. we usually have quite a bit of stuff out so it takes a while to get everything rolled up and locked up in our tool boxes. Then we go sign out and leave at 4:30. You do not leave before then even if you have your stuff up.
I know this sounds like a rough day for most people, and it is hard, but we have fun. We joke around when we can and tease each other. Sometimes there are down times waiting for one of the cranes or such and we can rest them. It does take some getting used to though and many people don't like the work. I don't know, we all have a good camaraderie and help each other as much as we tease each other too. I am fortunate to work with a great bunch of guys.

Late Summer Fair

2011-09-20T17:32:00.000-05:00

After my last post I have been anxious to put this one up so that I could show you all that I can relax and did have an enjoyable and fun weekend to counteract the long work week. I drive home on Friday evenings after work, so that night is usually just spent laying around, but Saturday we got up and went into Birmingham so I could deliver a little pottery to one of my stores and to do some other general errands. We returned that afternoon in time for the county fair though! They had a lot more exhibits and such this year I believe. I thought this poultry pair was beautiful. I think they said the breed was Coronation Sussex but I could be mistaken.

This feller was so cute but looked like he would bite your hand clean off if you gave him the chance. Maybe that's just the way he always looks. I think some people think I have that same look.

No way in Hell.

Of course there is always something magical about the carousel horses. I couldn't quite capture the image I had in mind but you get the idea.

And we ate all sorts of crap we probably shouldn't have but it was good and fun. I always have to get a caramel apple and nachos!

I was trying to get kinda artsy-fartsy with some of these pics and it only succeeded to a small degree. I'm not much on these kind of rides but enjoy some of the games and all the exhibits. Fred won several ribbons for his various art and craft work, as usual, and Rurality won a ribbon for one her plant displays along with another friend of ours.

I had thought about entering something but just didn't have time with work and all. The weather was gorgeous over the weekend and Sunday was spent just relaxing. Well, that and washing my work clothes.

Today we got rained out at work so I had a little time to relax down here. I picked up a cold unfortunately, so part of the day was spent napping but after lunch I felt a bit improved and went out for a walk about. Visited an antique store down the road and the book store. I found a great old glass storage jar at the antique place for my pantry collection and it was on sale! So,that's about as exciting as free time gets when you're out of town! Ha! At least for me. Should be back to work tomorrow though as the rain moves out. As they say, 'cain't make no money sittin' at home' and I need to make all I can to make this worthwhile.
I'll try to be back a little quicker next post. I hope everybody is enjoying this fall weather and, if you're in Texas, some rain!! If not, maybe you will be soon.

Tired Feet

2011-09-15T20:20:00.000-05:00

Well, I had intended on posting a bit more but I guess I haven't entirely gotten used to this amount of construction work yet. Ten hours a day, everyday, is a little wearying. And, I guess, the abrupt and total change in lifestyle has been mentally tiring. I believe this is about as opposite as the way I was living as you can get. I'm having to stay in a small, cramped, heavily occupied, cheap hotel. It's right next to the interstate; mostly asphalt around here. The peace and tranquility of my valley is a long way away. I'm doing the best I can I guess but it gets me down.

I do enjoy working with my fellas though. That's the one bright spot but I don't see a lot of them for most of the day actually. Welders tend to work alone most of the time except when prep work is being done. Well, didn't mean to write a downer post but I'm very tired and I want to go home. We will get off at 2:30 tomorrow however and I'll be blazing a trail to my house shortly thereafter. I'll try to have a better post from home.

Cracker Box Palace

2011-09-12T20:39:00.000-05:00

Well, today has just been a real Monday all around; very frustrating. I was having so much trouble with Blogger I wasn't sure I was going to get anything posted or not. But I persisted. I trudged on for you, my dear readers! Ha! I know this blog has really had ya'll on the edge of your seats lately, ya know?
Anyway, these I-beams and tube steel are what I've been working on lately. How did I get those heavy pieces of steel up there, you ask?? Well, us construction workers are not as dumb as people think! We have levitation abilities! No, not really; not anything that exciting. There was simply decking over the openings when I was working there. They wrecked the decking today to make the area ready for the elevator men.

Just thought I'd give ya'll a few different views of the job site. So far, they have made just over 200 concrete pours on this job. I have no idea of the yardage.

This is (will be) the courtyard area. Right now it's a staging area. If you enlarge the area you should be able to see a lot of the sorted rebar and some finished column reinforcement waiting to be set.
I know sometimes I probably sound like a broken record talking about being safe with projects and stuff and maybe even kind of an alarmist type but this is what I know. This you see is serious. We are not playing around and this, in this photo, is one reason why it irks the hell out of me to see these jackleg bloggers giving people dishonest views of concrete and building. Now, I know ya'll aren't building anything like this. I know that pouring a patio slab or some other similar DIY project is rarely ever going to end in any serious injury but you have to be careful. Accidents do happen. And any structural concrete needs steel reinforcement.

I was trying to get both cranes in the shot but it's kinda hard when you are up close. My stamina is improving and I've been working in the shade the past few days with this welding, so that has helped. It's not near as hot as it was but even a cool day gets warm if you are welding in the open. That comes later! Ugh!
I tell ya, I sure didn't want to come back last night. I hated to leave home but I keep telling myself it will be good. I will be able to finish the house and it will look so good and be even more enjoyable to live there. Well, bedtime comes early these days! See ya'll!

Come-On-A-My House

2011-09-11T09:13:00.002-05:00

I was afeared I was goin' to have to work Saturday but I made good enough progress on my project that the boss said I could come home, so, after a 9 hour day Friday, I hopped in Little Blue and took off for the house! It has been a beautiful weekend, weather wise, and is noticeably cooler up here than where I'm working. The fall feeling is definitely in the air here. Jack had picked the last big watermelon and had it waiting on me. I had one other very large one and a couple about half this size. The first one was pretty darn good; very sweet despite the fact the flesh was not as dark as I thought Black Diamonds were supposed to be.

This second melon weighed in at 38 pounds; the first was around 32 I think. However, this one did not taste good. It was mushy and basically a disappointment.

So, we pitched it off the deck to the chickens, making sure not to squash any of them! They LOVE watermelon. Although, they did not attack this one in their normal voracious frenzy. They had already stuffed themselves with a smaller melon and had been eating bugs all day. Jack had let them out a few hours earlier than normal since we were going to be here all day and all.

And the new babies came in!!! They arrived Thursday morning early and Jack picked them up at the post office. They are sooo cute! But hopefully they will grow quickly into big, plump, non-cute, tasty birds. They are quite active, scurrying around their cage all day.

They do take naps as you can see by that one passed out in the corner. Since we ordered from McMurray Hatchery they always send you one extra, in case of a mortality I guess, and one free, exotic chick. You don't know what it is though, until it grows up. This one is very cute.

They are all doing well so far and began gobbling food just as soon as Jack put them in the cage. These are the Cornish Rocks and I am anxious to see how they do. We found a local feed supply that grinds their own formula of a non-mediated starter feed. It's not organic, unfortunately, but it's the best we can find right now without paying a fortune for feed. Maybe later I can come up with a more organic formula. McMurray lets you opt out of any vaccinations also, so I did not have that done. Jack scrubbed their cage within the coop house good and sterilized it before they arrived, so hopefully they will stay healthy.
Well, time to get some stuff done around here before I have to head back this evening.

Weathered

2011-09-06T21:18:00.002-05:00

Sorry, no photos today. Didn't really have a chance to take anything. If you've been listening to the weather any you may have heard we've had a bit of a rough couple of days down here. It's been kinda typical Alabama weather though. Friday we were sweating our butts off in 100 degree heat and 4 days later everybody had jackets and sweaters on. It was especially chilly on the upper floors of the building since they are all still open. Like the old local saying goes, "welcome to Alabama, bring your entire wardrobe."

We kept busy today inside the building trying to satisfy the seemingly never ending need for handrails. I believe you could frame a good size house from the lumber we have used just for that. Perhaps I will get to actually weld soon. One load of steel did come in last week.
As I gazed over the job site today from many stories up and watched the light rain falling, creating a cold mist that enveloped the workers and work, I realized that I really have reached the time when this is not work that I wish to do anymore. Half the year it is scorching hot and dry. Enormous dust devils race us across the open jobs sites flinging grit and stones at us. The other half, it is bitterly cold and wet. Southern winter is not like other winters. The dampness cuts all the way through you with a sharp chill. The weight of the clothes we wear can only be equaled by the inevitable weight of red clay accumulating on our boots as we slog through the day.
Perhaps I have finally proven everything I needed to prove to myself. Perhaps I'm just getting lazy. Whatever the reason, I think I have come to accept this work is no longer for me. But, I will finish this job and I will be grateful for the money I make to complete what I really want to work on.

The Follow Through

2011-09-04T23:27:00.006-05:00

I don't think I ever showed ya'll the completely finished pantry! This is pretty much it completed. I do have a little touch up on the paint and a tad of shoe mould to run but it's pretty much done. I was pleased with the final product. You can see on the top shelf some of the stuff I canned this year. Hopefully I will add a few more pints of things to this still. I have about 12-14 half pints of jams, 4 or 5 pints of salsa, a couple of pints of pickles and about 2 dozen pints of pickled okra. I know that's not a lot but it's better than I did last year. I hope to can a few more tomatoes at least, as my Amish Paste are still coming in. I have also harvested and dried a lot of herbs, which are in the glass jars on the countertop. I also put up shelves over the window and door to hold canning supplies and extra jars, etc.

Directly opposite that wall is this wall with the electrical panel. Code requires your panel to have at least 3 feet of clear space in front of it so we simply put it by the cased opening of the pantry so it would naturally stay clear. We had room to set the little wall for it out slightly in order to make little storage cubby holes there too. It's just right for a small broom closet type thing and to hide stuff like toilet paper and such but still be easy to get to.

I put up a few extras like this bulletin board to record stuff I run out of and all. The shelf above the door also holds table linens and such.

This is the hardware I chose. I like the very streamlined and contemporary look. I know a lot of people think homes in the country should look, well, country but that is just not my cup of tea. All of the fixtures, appliances, switch plates, hardware and the like are brushed stainless in my house. It's a very clean, minimalist look to me. I think it goes well with the maple woodwork and cabinets too.

Hard Bargain

2011-09-03T17:42:00.004-05:00

Well, I had good intentions (but you know what they say about that) for my posting while I was away but ran into a couple of issues. First, the place where I'm staying has horrible Internet connection. I'm using a wireless connection but can only sometimes get a strong enough signal to stay online more than a few minutes. I inquired about the hotel's connection but they want $10 a week for it and I said screw that. I would get an excellent signal at work but do not have time to even log on, much less write anything and I'm not about to hang around after work to blog. Sorry folks. Don't mean I don't care about you! But that shower, however crappy it is, is calling to me mightily by quitting time. Hopefully, I can figure out a solution to this dilemma but in the mean time if I am slow answering emails or replying to comments, that is why. Also, and just as significantly, this first week kicked my ass, to be honest and I really didn't have the energy to do much writing. We worked overtime everyday except Friday and by the time I got back to my room, cleaned up and got something to eat, I was about ready to pass out. My crew has been working on hanging brick angle and so must work out of man lifts up to 80 or so feet in the air. Of course, we must wear safety harnesses that add about 6-7 lbs. to what you're already carrying and in the blazing sun with hardhats on. We've been going in at 6:00 a.m. to get some coolness but that makes for some early nights. At least for me. I can't stay up all night like I used to could. Fortunately, as far as the stress of the work, I do see a light at the end of the tunnel. The first part of the week was rough, to say the least, but by Thursday I was feeling like I was starting to get acclimated to it all again and Friday was almost enjoyable. Maybe that was partially due to the fact I knew we were leaving at 2:30 but I felt not quite so wore out. It was still about 100 degrees that day and I burnt the living crap out of myself cutting some steel but it wasn't a bad day. (The slag spewed back on me because I was cutting against concrete and it basically showered me completely in molten steel.) That statement may help you understand just how bad Monday through Wednesday was.
When I was pondering what to blog about I was thinking about just how hard it is to describe what we go through on these jobs to someone who has never experienced it. I mean, I picked metal BB's (basically) out of my flesh and yes, it hit in some very sensitive areas for a woman, but it was still a fairly enjoyable day, comparatively. Not to sound overly dramatic but it occurred to me; nothing I have ever done while building my house has ever been as hard as what I do at work. And my house includes quite a bit of structural steel and concrete. I admit, the spring box was close and some days at work are super easy but it is just a whole 'nother world there. I think that is part of the reason I get so pissed off when I hear people speak disparagingly of construction workers or have some office slackers make snide remarks to us. It kills me that society has so much respect for doctors and professors etc. but the people that build the structures for these esteemed members of society to work in are treated like so much trash, for the most part.
Well, that's enough ranting for now! Thankfully they are letting us have a 3-day weekend for the holiday so I will probably have some time to post again before I go back. I will try to write about something other than work also!

Oh, I forgot to mention, the photo is the view from the front of the job but you can only see one of the two tower cranes. Directly beneath the crane is some of the forms they use for pouring the floors. These are some interesting contraptions as they can be jacked up or down and shoved out over the edge to extend the floor they are forming. After the floor is poured, these forms are dropped down and pulled out by the crane to be replaced with shoring. The shoring is the 4x4 posts and scaffolding you see to the far left. There will be a forest of these posts amongst the floors. These must be left in place for a few weeks until the concrete samples taken from these pours break at the prescribed strength.
And...if you're wondering why I wasn't wearing some type of protection when I got burned...well, that's a good question. I just didn't take the time to get down from the lift and go get my sleeves. I only needed to wallow this hole in the steel out about an 1/8th of an inch and knew it wouldn't take a minute. So, in an effort to save time I did it bare armed. I eventually had to burn a few more, so I did retrieve my leathers when I went down to doctor myself. And yes, Daddy Rabbit chewed my ass when he found out that I had injured myself, so now I'm sore on both ends. Ha!

Tough

2011-08-30T20:54:00.003-05:00

Alright folks, just a quick post to let everybody know I'm on the job and still alive. It's been a little rough so far, to be honest. It's been hovering right around 100 degrees everyday and it does take a little time to get re acclimated to 10 hours a day in that.

I haven't had much time to take photos and really can't publish much anyway in that respect but I did think this one view gives you a pretty good idea of the size of the job. Sorta. If you view the courtyard in the center it seems much bigger. This is probably the biggest job I've ever been on and it's going to be tough. I've got a LOT of steel to weld up.

Anyway, lots of my long-time buddies are here and they are always a hoot. If it weren't for them and Daddy Rabbit I don't think I would try to come back. So, I'll try to post again soon.

Ready Or Not

2011-08-27T22:21:00.003-05:00

I woke up a little earlier than usual this morning, so I took my mug of morning tea out onto the deck to enjoy the coolness of the air and the quality of light that is only seen at that time of day. More than that, I wanted to enjoy the few mornings I have left before I leave. Soon the time to sit and sip hot tea or maybe even sleep at little later will be gone. No morning walks with Chigger or to feed the chickens or putter in the garden. I have to admit, this last year of life has spoiled me something awful. Of course, we have worked hard here and we have accomplished much but the work here can in no way be compared to what I am about to do. It is truly different when you are working hard for yourself. And yes, the money I make will go directly to finishing the house but oh, how I will miss my sweet little house and mornings in my valley; the dragonflies awakening and darting carelessly in the crystal air. Of course I will miss Jack and Chigger and Grendal, my sweet kitty. I know I will be home on the weekends also, but when you are pressed for time it's sometimes hard to relax much.
But, such is the life of a construction worker; I have said it before. I joked tonight that maybe after Daddy Rabbit retires, I can really retire also. I do enjoy working with the guys and it is always interesting to go to a new town and see new things. I'm proud of what we build too. None of those crappy shopping malls for us! Since we are building for a university I thought I might even be able to audit a course or some other evening activity. We'll see. Out of town work can be incredibly boring. Well, unless you are into carousing or such and I'm not much into that. Anymore. Heh.
I just know this is going to be quite a shock to my system in many ways. I won't have as much of my home grown food or home cooking. Trying to entertain myself in the evenings is a challenge because I hate TV and I can't afford to do much that costs money. But I think the biggest thing is going to be leaving the peace and quiet of this valley to live in a city in a hotel. Yeck!! I just keep telling myself that I can finish the house, I can finish the house....I will adapt rather quickly to the new waking and working hours though. It has always surprised me how quickly I can get back into the routine of getting up at 4:30 a.m., but I do. I fall out of it just as quickly too! Daddy Rabbit told me they are starting at 6:00 a.m. now but that will change as the seasons do. I just hope I can still handle the heat and the work load. I ain't no spring chicken you know. Speaking of chickens; here's Jack with the main herd of poultry.

We have finally got most of them sleeping on roosts. Some of them took to it naturally and some had to be prompted. They all are getting the hang of it pretty good now. We do have one rooster that developed a leg problem when he was younger and he has a little trouble. His leg bends out the wrong way, you see. I guess some people would say we should have culled him long ago but I felt we should give him a chance and he gets around fine really and doesn't seem to be in any discomfort. I would definitely do something if I thought he was in pain but he seems to enjoy himself. Anyway, he has trouble getting up on the roost. He can sit there fine, once he's there, but can't make the hop up, so whoever puts the chickens up just sets him up on the lower roost and he takes it from there.
It's also a bit of a concern to me to leave my house in the care of someone else. I know that probably sounds stupid but this ain't no ordinary house and I'm no ordinary paranoid woman. I've put so much into this place and to have to leave it's safety to someone else is troubling to me. I know, I know; it's just a house, I'm wacko, the cat's not going to blow the place to smithereens. But, I still fret. At least Jack has learned ALL about the water system since we did the spring box. He ought to know that thing backwards and forwards.
Well, time for bed. I still have one more day to enjoy before I load up and head out early Monday morning. It will be an adventure at any rate, I'm sure. It always is.

Friday Fun

2011-08-26T10:51:00.002-05:00

I haven't done anything to intensify the colors in these photos. Straight out of the camera to you! That's one reason I love marigolds, other than their bug repelling properties. No matter how hot and dry it gets, these things always seem to keep on going, no wilting, no fainting, just bright, pulsating color.

The only problem I've had this year is they have gotten so big that their stems have broken in some cases and the plant kinda flops open and splays on the ground. But they still keep blooming!

The butterflies are very abundant right now also. Mainly these type (I don't know the variety) but also a few of those Blue Admirals, I think? I had some caterpillars on my parsley (is that Monarch's) and let them have it but there is no sign of them now. The birds may have gotten to them.

Sometimes You Can't Teach A New Dog Old Tricks

2011-08-25T11:37:00.002-05:00

I thought I'd give ya'll a break from the spring workings; for a while anyway. Jack topped out the last of the concrete fill yesterday and is working on backfilling now, so it is sorta boring. I do intend to do a little follow up with some drawings and more info though.
Anyway, here's Chigger with a little comedic relief. She finally wore out her old frisbee, to the point of ripping out the center. She still wanted to play with it however, but would get it stuck over her head like this all the time. She could not seem to figure out how to get it off either. We got a good laugh out of it but I would eventually have to free her from her circle. I felt kinda bad too because it kinda seemed to hurt her feelings if we laughed too much and she would try to hide.

She really didn't want me to take these pictures either but I managed to snap a few. We did buy her a new frisbee but it doesn't fly as well as this one did. At any rate, she still has fun with the new one.

As some of you may have gathered from recent comments, it seems I am back on for the out of town job, so I have been busy once again getting ready for that. One reason I'm not helping backfill the spring box. I've had more stuff to get ready this time but am still waiting. Apparently, the steel has not come in for the job, plus, they are having trouble finding somewhere for me to stay. The area I am going to is one that was hit hard by the tornadoes back in April, so many of the hotels etc. are filled up with people rendered homeless by the storms. And, obviously, I can't room with any of the guys who are already there, so accommodations for just me are a little slim. With any luck Daddy Rabbit has found something starting Monday though. The job we are doing is not a result of those storms either. It was started months before that hit and being mostly concrete, did not suffer any damage although it was in the midst of the storms. So, I'm still just waiting and trying to get what I can done around here until then.
The garden is winding way down but I am still trying to preserve, pickle, dry or cook whatever I can. Making plans for what to plant for the fall and winter now. We also ordered 25 meat birds which should arrive around Sept. 6th, so that will be a new experience. They other chickens are doing great and producing lots of crap and eating lots of bugs but other than that, not contributing much yet. The hens from the bunch should start laying in a month or so however, so that's something. The birds that are coming are actual meat birds and should be harvested within about 8 weeks of their arrival. We'll have to do this when I come home on the weekends.
So, things are never boring around here I guess! Always busy, busy. And now I need to go throw so I can keep some kind of inventory in my stores about town.

Almost Easy

2011-08-22T21:31:00.006-05:00

I believe we have topped out. We ran out of concrete before we filled absolutely every cell in the blocks but we are real close and will only take a few more bags. I am very pleased with the state of the spring and water system now. I think it all went well and turned out great; despite being extremely hard, physically, to do. I feel, and I think Jack would agree, that I have been beaten with a 2 x 4.

I was not pleased with how that shelf came out over the rock ledge so we bought 2 more bags of the quick setting concrete and I went back down to shore it up. Basically, I just mixed it up down in the hole and jammed it in the cavities while Jack kept the water pumped down. You can see one of the main inlets right in front of my right hand.

This set up very quickly and I was pleased with the result. By doing this I also confirmed that the hole is also big enough to actually do some work down there. I mean, it's not terribly comfortable, but it is workable.

I am still astounded at how fast the water cleared up and how clear it is now. The only murkiness is from the concrete residue and when this clears I suspect the water will be almost crystal clear.

This is standing at the spring looking up towards the pump house. Of course you know, all could not go well. As sure as Murphy's Law exists, no good deed goes unpunished and if everything is coming your way you must be in the wrong lane, we did have some problems. After the spring was done and we were trying to clean up, we hooked everything back up in order to use the water to clean up. In my exhaustion I forgot to reopen the valve above the spring. I have a very good pump and it tried very hard to do it's job and in doing so cracked the connections both going in and coming out of it's housing. It didn't take long for me to realize what I had done but by then water was running everywhere out of the pump. So, Jack spent most of the day finding parts to fix those connections. Finally, about 5 p.m. today he finished the connections and we had water again. Hopefully,it will go a looooong time now with no problems. Anybody that has been following this blog for sometime knows I have had problems with those connections before, so Jack used some different type this time and redid the whole setup. It certainly looks better.

This is my cute little pump house during the renovation. I still need to put siding on this thing.

An inside shot of the pressure tank and pump. This is a Gould pump and I would highly recommend these things. This one has been through pump hell and still going strong. Hopefully, it's life will be much easier now.

This is looking from the pump house, up through the woods to the house. The spring is about 200 feet from the house and at a lower elevation than the house. The pump pulls the water up a hill to the pressure tank and then the water is pushed further up the hill and over the crest, where it beings to fall back down at about 70 feet towards the house.

So, while Jack was finding parts I was getting my own stuff together. My company worked out their crap and now I am back on again for the out of town job. I told them I was not leaving until I got this put back together though. They threw the wrench in the works so they can wait on me now. Everything seems to be going well though and if the pump does not blow up overnight it looks like I'll be heading out sometime tomorrow. I am exhausted and grumpy but maybe I can make it through the rest of the week. It should be an interesting time anyway. I'll catch up with ya'll when I can!

One Step Closer

2011-08-20T21:11:00.004-05:00

Well, first off, I appreciate all the kind words and compliments from you folks in the last post. Ya'll are sweet. Although, I did have to giggle a little at Island Rider's comparison to a Amazon warrior. I felt like something from the Amazon alright; maybe a giant leech or slug after being in that water for 3 days but not a warrior.! I look at those photos and think I look like hammered cat shit. I certainly feel like hammered cat shit; especially after today.

It was somewhat frustrating at the start today but we got it worked out and once the footprint was down it was just stack, stack, stack. It did take me a little while to get that first run situated correctly and level but my elevations were very close and it all tied in well with the shelf I poured yesterday. I was somewhat disappointed to see that some of that shelf did not set well and was crumbly. This was probably my fault for mixing it too dry. I know that's hard to imagine, it being submerged in water but High/ Early sets FAST. Fortunately, it was on the side where I could actually set block on the floor of the spring, so I just chipped out that crumbly and ran block. I then filled that blocked completely and filled up flush with the top of the shelf. I wish I had photos but you know....
Anyway, you can see how far we got. And, the first 5 runs are filled 100% and have rebar doweled through them. I know some of you may notice that I did not actually mortar the blocks together but with them being in water that's kinda not going to work well. The grout filling them, with the rebar will be plenty sufficient to hold them in place. It's almost like just pouring solid concrete.
Now, some of you may ask, why didn't I just pour concrete walls? Well, if I had used Sonatube, for a round form, the cost would have been much higher. If I had square formed it with plywood the cost might have been about the same but the aggravation of getting a concrete truck back there, the labor of forming and wrecking that form etc. made the block just seem like the easier way to go.

Now, the top 3 runs in this photo have not been poured. We ran out of Sackrete after pouring over half of it but it will be good to let that set up tonight and then pour the remainder tomorrow. You can see here how much clearer the water is already. It's kinda amazing to me. I knew it would clear up but didn't really expect that. As soon as all the concrete sets and such it should become very clear. Oh, the big pipe there and the block will be taken out later. The pipe stubbed up is just to keep me from dropping concrete or kicking gravel into the inlet when I'm working. I'll try to get some better pictures as it clears and we finish up.
Well, today was really exhausting for me. Jack made material runs while I wrecked the form and started stacking block. I stacked and poured while he kept me supplied with material. It worked well. Except for when I fell in first thing this morning (that will wake you up!) and then later when I sat down in the water and forgot my cell phone was in my back pocket. Oh well. I only buy the cheap kind anyway!
So, we hope to finish with the structure tomorrow and I can even do a little cut drawing for ya'll to better show what I did. For now, I have mixed me a good whiskey sour and I am going to relax.

Down In A Hole

2011-08-19T21:19:00.004-05:00

Well, we are making progress. Still a ways to go but things are going fairly well and we've not been sucked down into a quagmire yet. To look on the bright side, the water is at least so cold that it keeps us cool while we are working. It is so cool, in fact, that a light fog is almost always present when we are in the hole; a mist formed from the heat of our bodies meeting the cold air rising off the water. I keep meaning to take a thermometer down there and check the actual water temp.

We take turns going down in the hole to dig. One goes down and the other hoists the buckets of mud up and empties them. Works pretty good. After having it firmly implanted in my brain that we were just going to widen a round hole and somehow stack block, I realized that nothing said the hole had to be round...It's funny how you get stuff stuck in your head and don't see alternatives. So, we squared the hole up, which will make setting block in a square much easier. DUH! Note how muddy the water is in this photo. We had stirred up quite a bit of silt and such by this point. Also, note the large rock behind Jack. You can't tell here but under that rock is where the inlet is.

Jack rigged up a cable with a pulley and such for the bucket, which helps greatly, but it is still pretty rough work. Last night my left shoulder was so sore I could barely move it. I either worked it out or something because today it is better.

Here you can see the water flowing in, somewhat. It has been hard for me to get many good pictures because we are usually both either in water or covered in mud. Not really when I want to have a camera in my hand. This crack between the rocks is about 8 inches at the widest point. I would guess this spring puts out about 5 gallons a minute, maybe. In the winter it flows heavier. This large rock threw a little kink in my block laying plans so I had to form a shelf over it.

As you can see here. At this point we have basically finished excavating the walls (it's about a 5 x 5 foot hole). We scooped out all the loose stuff on the bottom until we were below the elevation at which the water comes in. I crammed a 6 inch diameter piece of PVC into the inlet and ran it out to about the middle of the hole and turned it up with a 90. That's what you see with the bucket over it. This will protect the opening of the spring. We then filled the bottom with about a 6 inch layer of crushed stone. This hardened up the bottom remarkably well. Before we would sink several inches into the muck while we were working but now you can walk around just fine. I was very surprised that little bit of stone worked so well. You can even see how much that stone layer helped clear up the water. I mean, it's not clear yet but it's better than it was. So, I then threw this form up so that it was tight against the face of that rock, squared it up best I could, staked it in place and kicked it off. We used stone rubble to fill up most of the space behind the form and over the PVC inlet but used big enough chunks that the water can flow freely. I am not trying to force the water to come in through the PVC pipe only but rather to simply block out a space were it always could if the areas around the pipe become clogged. I then used smaller stones to kinda seal the top on the rubble so that the concrete would not seep down into the inlet and seal it off. As an added insurance, we mixed the concrete fairly stiff so it would not ooze much. I used a High/ Early mix so that it would set quickly. We kept the water pumped down for a while but then let the spring fill back up. Keep in mind, concrete does not dry; it sets by a chemical reaction so water being on it does not hurt it. I also threw a few pieces of rebar in the shelf to help it and had stacked 3 layers of block on the outside to get a grade by, which I marked in the inside of the form. This, hopefully, will work out so that the blocks laid on this shelf will lay in with the other walls with nothing needing to be cut down. Since I can manipulate the gravel on the floor of the spring I can adjust the blocks to meet correctly but this should make it very close as it is now.
One other note about this photo: we take the foot valve and all out of the spring every morning as we begin work so nothing is in the way. This was taken towards the end of the day, after we had replaced the foot valve and reconnected the water. Fortunately, the spring cleans itself well enough that we can use the water by the time it refills. Now, we don't use it for drinking or cooking yet but it is fine for bathing etc. and it is filtered before it comes in the house. We do keep buckets of water on the deck though, to dump over ourselves at the end of the day in order to get clean enough to come in the house in order to take a shower. Heh.

If you look close enough you can see the little peepers that were staring at me most of the day. He is not happy that we have invaded his spring. I tossed him out twice and he is right back in there as soon as I turn my back. I was hoping that he would hop down to the creek, which is not 20 feet away, but he likes this hole.

In the afternoon the chickens come down to inspect things. Big 'Un, on the right, gave us his approval. Chigger thinks it's all great fun because it gives her an excuse to go play in the creek and mud while we are working. She won't go down there unless we are nearby.

This was taken at the end of the first day. Today was not much better. I suspect my clothes are ruined so we have been wearing the same ones over and over! Yeck! What a mess! Hopefully, I will start stacking block tomorrow and will be finished by the end of the weekend.

Hole In The Ground

2011-08-17T22:52:00.003-05:00

Yep. That about describes it. A hole in the ground. So, this is what has occupied my thoughts and time the past couple of days and will continue to for the next several. Wish me luck for the time has finally come. The weather, the money, the time has all lined up and there is no more putting it off. I know I should have done this waaaay back before I ever even built the house but I was anxious to get moved in and the spring was working fine. And it still is now technically but the walls of the hole have continued to slowly erode and so it is time to permanently fix this. The large concrete pipe you see there was originally going to be part of the fix, a major part but it boiled down tot he fact that that pipe was going to cost me between $700.00- $900.00, even though I got it for free. See, it's not really possible to move something like that ( in any controlled manner anyway) without heavy equipment. So, after ruminating over about every other options possible, we are going to bite the bullet and do this by hand. I shall post about it later if I survive.

I suppose most people would gag to know this is where I get my water. The spring is actually quite clean and clear though. It has a little debris in it here because I had been mucking around the hole and knocked some leaves in. The orange paint marks is where it must be dug out to. You can see I have already started on that some. So, I shall return about this later but it may be a couple of days.

Thanks for all the opinions ya'll gave on the gable end thing. One thing I didn't mention that might make a difference is that the area I was questioning about is right over the front door; so it is rather noticeable. I know I didn't show this is the photo and it just looked like a random gable on the end somewhere.

I know also many of you may be thinking, why am I still here? I, being me not you. Wasn't I supposed to go out of town to work? Well, funny you should mention that. I got all ready to go, down to being packed and then no one called. A day went by, then 5 and no one called. They basically drug up on me. No, I was not really pleased. However, they assure me that I will go back to work at least for long enough to make it worth my while for doing all that paperwork etc. So, what do you do? I was looking forward to maybe having the cash to finish the house completely but now at least, I don't have to be away from home. Oh well.

One Way Or Another

2011-08-15T22:43:00.003-05:00

Okay, if anybody is still willing to talk to me, I need some feedback! Seriously. In the photo below, you can see the gable end that I just finished running the siding on. I have put up a bit of trim but am undecided on how to finish the triangular spaces inside the trim. The other gable end of the house, opposite this one, has a gable vent, which you can see in another photo. This end of the house has vaulted ceilings so therefore, no attic or vent. I am not trying to make this look like a vent but rather just replicate a similar repetition of lines. Maybe.

Below you can see the actual gable vent. Now, one suggestion was that I continue to run the siding but ripped down into more narrow strips and allow only about a 3 inch reveal (the siding has a 7" reveal). This would repeat the lines of the vent.
Another suggestion was to completely forget siding there and run either sheet metal, similar to what is on my roof, or maybe even ceramic tile, which might have a design on it.

One thought was that if I made tile for this area, maybe I could take a small section of this pattern in the metal beam and repeat it in the tiles. If done right it might also vaguely resemble the rays of the sun, which I like. It is a passive solar house after all.

So, what do ya'll think? Any ideas? Also, look back at the first photo: now, should I paint the trim, that is light green now, the cedar color of the rafters or the red, like the gable vent in the next picture? Or just leave it like it is? The siding will be painted the light sage color, I just haven't gotten that far yet and it is still showing the grey primer.

America First, Revisited

2011-08-14T10:44:00.007-05:00

Perhaps I did not word that last post as clearly as I had intended, which often is my mistake. I also don't want to come across as angry, as I'm not. It's just that this isn't meant to be some grueling hardship I am proposing. What I was trying to say was that I thought it would be a good thing, and maybe even fun and educational, to watch what we buy and just try to make an effort to buy things made here in America. I did not say that I thought we should refrain from ever buying anything foreign or that had even the smallest little iota of foreign material, labor etc. in it for all of eternity. The article said, if every American spent just $64 more than normal on USA made items this year, it would create something like 200,000 new jobs! It does not say, if Americans wouldn't buy anything that came from another country ever, it would create these jobs. Look, I just think there is more made here than what we have been led to believe and that if we made a little effort to seek these things out we could maybe help some fellow American keep a job, or maybe even hire another one. And, it is simply not THAT hard to find American products. Yes, I realize that there are virtually NO computers, TV's (and God knows we got to have those!) or other electronics that are made here. And I realize that of the stuff made here, much of it has foreign components or ingredients. I mean, Jeez Louise, where do you think I think the cocoa beans come from in Hershey's chocolate? I realize all of this but I'll tell you this: when those people from Cullman county (next door to my county) made that mattress set I bought last spring, even with some foreign fabric, they were damn happy to have that job and get that paycheck that week rather than some Chinese getting it. And the same for the people at the Lodge factory in Tennessee where I buy my cookware and at Pyrex, Anchor-Hocking, Maytag, Whirlpool, Weber, KitchenAid (mixers only), Maglite, New Balance, Wahl, Meyers, Nordic Ware, Franklin, Oreck, Viking, ShopVac, Ford and on and on. I mean, crap people, it was just an idea to be a little more aware of where our stuff comes from. I'll say this too, after doing a little research I was astounded to see how much is still produced here and how many new factories are opening up here producing American goods, even some an amazing 100% American! I believe most people would be surprised to see what is made here also, if we would just look around instead of straight down the tunnel in front of us. We have let the media and just general opinion at large tell us that the United States does not manufacture anything anymore. It's an urban legend! According to one set of statistics I read, we are still the largest manufacturing economy in the world. Clothes, furniture, cookware, cleaning products, shoes, jewelry, dinnerware, glassware, health products, sheets and pillows and the lists go on. And yes, we still produce raw materials such as steel, copper, oil, chemicals and minerals, aluminum, cotton etc. etc. as well as paper, textiles, bricks, wood, and on and on and on. For years we all made the assumption that if a product had an American label on it, it was made here. Then we realized that wasn't true anymore and that many corporations had moved overseas. Now, I believe we had the same erroneous idea that nothing is made here anymore (so why even look) when there are hundreds of companies that never sold out and have remained loyal to the people here. I just think we should support those companies. If you think that's stupid, or too much trouble, or that Americans make crap or you just don't give a flyin' rat's ass, then don't do it. But then, don't sigh and complain about why so many people are unemployed right now. And yes, I know that of the unemployed, many of them would die before they would take a manufacturing job (or whine that the Hispanics have taken them all) but many would be glad to have it and do go after them. My company built a manufacturing plant for Honda (yes, I know they are Japanese) in a town not far from here. Not only did it give us construction workers jobs for years, it has made an enormous difference to those people of that small town. They have jobs paying well over $20/ hour, where as before they worked at menial jobs for much less. I've talked to some of those people; they are VERY happy to have that job.
With very little effort I found several websites that are more than happy to give you lists of American products and companies, such as American Made Products, Made Here In America, and Still Made In America. These are only a few, there were many more.
I don't have a problem with trading with other countries. I mean, I love my Bosch and Makita tools; they're wonderful. The Honda plant is another example of a type of trading. It works good! Heck, even though my clay comes from North Carolina, some of the minerals I use for glazes and such are mined in England or Africa. Oops! shouldn't have said that, now I'm not an American producer of goods. Oh well, when someone buys pottery from me that money sure does go to buy my groceries or whatever and I don't send it to China. All I'm saying is that if I can buy a set of glasses from an American company, that employs Americans, even if the silica to make the glass comes from Africa, I had rather do that than to buy a set of cheap glasses where everything comes from China. Yes, I am disgusted with our world policies right now. Yes, I'm disgusted to see we have become like Rome in that war is our main product. Yes, I know we are a hated nation world wide. But I am proud I'm American because I know we, the people, are not like our government right now. I love my country and I want to help my fellow citizens and support them and maybe, just maybe by doing that we can change the way things are going for us in some way. Am I stupid and delusional? Probably. I've been called worse I assure you. But at least I can say I tried to do something. As one of my readers said, "maybe we should think of the whole of our country as local". I like that.
Now, am I going to do without a new pair of welding gloves if I can't find any made here? No! That would be stupid (and I'm not so stupid as to burn my hands up!) I'm also not going to do without guacamole if I can help it or run around in public with no underwear. But if I can't find an American made table runner that I wanted for fall, then maybe I could do without it or better yet, make one myself from American fabric!!! Hey, I'm from the south, we got cotton out the ying-yang!

America First

2011-08-12T11:37:00.004-05:00

A friend recently sent me an email about a "Buy American" challenge starting August 1st and going this whole month. Yes, I'm a little late getting the news! Now, I have tried, to some extent, to buy American products when I can but have not put a tremendous amount of effort into it. I'm somewhat ashamed to admit I have not tried harder. However, after reading the email I decided that now's the time. With things going the way they are economically and every way else there are just no excuses left, for me anyway. We harp and harp about buying local meats and produce from our local farmers (and that's great) but nobody says much about buying other American made products. A lot of people even have the gall to say you can't do it. You wouldn't have anything if you limited yourself to only American made. While it is true that these products may be harder to find, and cost a little more, they are out there. We just have to get off our lazy ass and find them. And, it's not a bad thing in my book that it would cut down on the amount of cheap crap that the majority of Americans drag into their homes every day.

Here is the gist of what the email said: (Now, I didn't see this Diane Sawyer show that is mentioned, so I don't know how much of that is true, nor some of the other statistics quoted, but I think it is a good challenge none the less).

Did y'all see Diane Sawyer's special report? They removed ALL items from a typical, middle class family's home that were not made in the USA .

There was hardly anything left besides the kitchen sink. Literally. During the special they showed truckloads of items - USA made - being brought in to replace everything and talked about how to find these items and the difference in price etc..

It was interesting that Diane said if every American spent just $64 more than normal on USA made items this year, it would create something like 200,000 new jobs!

FOR EXAMPLE THE "OUR FAMILY" BRAND OF THE MANDARIN ORANGES SAYS RIGHT ON THE CAN 'FROM CHINA '

I WAS SHOCKED SO FOR A FEW MORE CENTS I BOUGHT THE LIBERTY GOLD BRAND OR THE DOLE SINCE IT'S FROM CALIF.

Are we Americans as dumb as we appear --- or --- is it that we just do not think. The Chinese, knowingly and intentionally, export inferior and even toxic products and dangerous toys and goods to be sold in American markets.

70% of Americans believe that the trading privileges afforded to the Chinese should be suspended.

Why do you need the government to suspend trading privileges? DO IT YOURSELF, AMERICA !!

Simply look on the bottom of every product you buy, and if it says 'Made in China ' or 'PRC' (and that now includes Hong Kong ), simply choose another product, or none at all. You will be amazed at how dependent you are on Chinese products, and you will be equally amazed at what you can do without.

Who needs plastic eggs to celebrate Easter? If you must have eggs, use real ones and benefit some American farmer. Easter is just an example. The point is do not wait for the government to act. Just go ahead and assume control on your own.

THINK ABOUT THIS: If 200 million Americans each refuse to buy just $20 of Chinese goods, that's a billion dollar trade imbalance resolved in our favor...fast!!

Most of the people who have been reading about this matter are planning on implementing this on Aug. 1st and continue it until Sept. 1st. That is only one month of trading losses, but it will hit the Chinese for 1/12th of the total, or 8%, of their American exports.
Remember, August 1st to Sept. 1st !!!!!! START NOW.

If we can't live without cheap Chinese goods for one month out of our lives, WE DESERVE WHAT WE GET! ( I agree!!!)

Now, I don't necessarily agree with the kinda vehement anti-Chinese sentiment expressed there. I'm not interested in "sticking it to China" or trying to cause them trouble. I just think it's about time we quit pissing and moaning about the sad state of economics etc., in this country and do something about it. How many jobs have been lost due to our manufacturing being sent overseas? And yes, I realize many of jobs were replaced with some other type but a country cannot remain secure if it doesn't have a stable infrastructure and relies so heavily on other countries, that probably don't have our best interests in mind, for tools, clothing and many other very important daily supplies.
I did a little investigating last night by looking up a number of USA made products online. There is a lot more out there than what you might think. Now, I know some people are saying, 'I can't afford to do this. USA made stuff costs a lot more'. Not necessarily and many of the companies offer free shipping. With the cost of gas these days and that most people don't live next door to a mall, are you really saving that shipping charge by driving to the shopping areas? And like I said, so what if it costs a couple dollars more? It's giving an American a job and it might just cut back on this epidemic of useless shit that floods our homes.
I thought about how this relates to Wal-Mart too and their whole prostitution ring with China but I don't know that I really want to get into that. It makes me too sick and upset. If you don't shop at Wal-Mart yo have your reasons and I don't need to convince you. If you do shop at Wal-Mart I would just ask you, do you really think that company cares about this country or do they just care about lining their own pockets? I know Wal-Mart has made some efforts to carry more USA made products but only because the people have called them on it and they will sell out whoever they have to in order to continue to rob the American public of all they can.

Anyway, I just feel that we have sat on our asses long enough. Are we going to let this country go down the shitter, even more than it has, or are we going to stand up and DO something? Even if it means giving up our cheap, plastic, worthless junk. How sad it would be if most people would choose their junk over this beautiful country.
Jack and I went to a movie yesterday and then we stopped at the pet store to get Chigger a new Frisbee (which probably wasn't made here) and I went next door to a large chain department store just to look around and see how much USA produced stuff I could find. I have to say that if we stopped importing stuff today we would at least have plenty of glassware and throw rugs. Not much else! I asked the lady at the jewelry counter if any of it was made in the US. She looked kinda funny and then she said no, she didn't think so. She thought for a moment and then she looked at me very seriously and said, 'we need to change that'. I said, "yes, we do!" We talked about it for a while and I was surprised that she was on my same line of thought but then I think lots of people are starting to get tired of this situation. I ended up buying some foot lotion and a card, both made in the US. I also found some very pretty candles and glasses. Today I looked around the house to take stock of what I have here. I'm happy to say that much of what I actually have is made here because I buy a lot of stuff from local artists and craftspeople. But, I was very unhappy to see that of my wonderful collection of books (ya'll know how I am about books) many are not printed here even though the publishers are American. What crap!! This is something I will keep in mind in the future.

So, I challenge you to join me! We sit around and wonder what can we do to help society. We wonder what we can do to help our fellow citizen. This is one, simple thing we can do. We are constantly reminded to support our troops (and rightfully so), but what about supporting ourselves!? Please don't tell me that the indomitable American spirit is dead.

Hurry Up And Wait

2011-08-10T11:54:00.005-05:00

Well, I'm still at home so things are just continuing here along the same lines. Just with a little more motivation on getting stuff accomplished faster. The okra continues to come in huge waves so I'm putting up all of it I can. Freezing, eating and pickling. The corn and greens beans have about played out, as has the cantaloupe. I have just started getting figs though!! My first! They are SO good. Still getting tomatoes and peppers so I have put up a few jars of salsa and hope to do a lot more. The sauerkraut I tried was a success, so I will post about that shortly also. It is SO simple and easy to do.

I also got all fired up and have almost finished the siding completely! Woooooo! This is cause for major celebration! You can see that the grey siding is what we put up yesterday. I have just a little trim to do right in the top (where you see the white house wrap) and then I can run that last little bit of siding. I'm so happy!! The sun is right on this area in the morning so I wait until after lunch when it is in shade. The temps have been around 90 with a nice breeze the past couple of days so it has been great for working outside. I mean, it's still hot but it's not suffocatingly so.

Well, that's about it for today. I'll try to be back soon and maybe even have a recipe or so for you. I haven't forgotten about the food posts! Just been real busy lately. I tried a recipe for Braised Chicken with Root Veggies the other night and it was fantastic! I may put that up but don't have a photo of the finished product; it got wolfed down quick!!

Before They Make Me Run

2011-08-08T12:25:00.004-05:00

Ya'll remember those 4 little chicks we hatched in the incubator? Well, here they are! They are not so little anymore. Those little craps are growing like weeds!! Sorry that you are seeing mostly their butts, but it's hard to get a decent picture of these hings; they won't hold still for even a second.

I love the little Barred Rocks because they look like little mini versions of the older chickens. Unlike some breeds, as soon as these start growing feathers they are the color that they are going to be grown. These are a handful I tell you. Very rambunctious and they want you to be out there with them if at all possible. They will just go sit int he coop if you go inside. I guess we have spoiled these a little. They expect a treat any time you go out there.

We integrated all the other chickens into the main big run so that the little 4 could have the extension to themselves. We were having to carry them back and forth to a separate cage, morning and evening. That got old quick!

Henny, Bertha and Little Bea (the big hens) are NOT happy about the hoard being in their run but we have started letting them out in the evenings to forage in the yard, so that helps their feelings a little. As you can see here in these photos, the big hens stay to themselves when let out. They can't stand those younger chickens! I have to admit though, I can't have blame them. We don't call them 'the hoard' for nothing. They act like we don't feed them but once a week or something instead of the multiple times a day we do. They just run all over Bertha and the others when we throw food out.. It's kinda funny though.

The garden has kinda gone to pot. Not literally though!! Don't want anybody from work to get any funny ideas! lol!! I need to clean it up a bit before I go but don't know if I'll have time.

I LOVE these Amish Paste tomatoes! They are wonderful for canning. I think I am going to cut my variety of tomatoes back next year to just 2 regular and one cherry type. Unless, I make more room. Maybe.

Well, I just wanted to assure you all that I would not just be posting about work from now on. The homestead will continue and I will continue to work on the house on the weekends, so there will be posts about that. I don't believe I can say a whole lot about work anyway. These days you have to be careful and I even had to sign a paper saying that I would not talk about people within the company "except on a need to know basis". I guess they do stuff like that on account of people getting on Facebook, etc and blasting their bosses and such.
I can tell you that I am going south to a major university (still in Alabama) and we are building an 8 story housing complex. Normally, my company subs out all the structural steel and we just do the miscellaneous steel, like handrails and such, but this time we got it all, so I get to play ironworker. I will have one other boy helping weld if they can get him certified. The building is mostly concrete but there is a large steel structure on the very top. Good thing heights don't bother me too much! I'll try to get a few photos, maybe. There are various other structural steel elements and then I get to weld together essentially 32 floors of handrails. (8 floors and 4 stairwells).
So anyway, I'll be back when I can. I have purchased a small laptop to take with me so I can post and email.

Come Away With Me

2011-08-06T21:14:00.006-05:00

This is sort of a two-part post, which I meant to do in two, completely separate posts, but time got the best of me and so ya'll will get it all in one, jumbled entry. The photos may not be in sync but once again, Blogger is being screwy and I still can't figure out their apparent new code for uploading photos in the sequence you actually want. Also, please forgive me for not answering all comments lately and for not making the rounds on your blogs either. I have been very busy the last week, the reasons for which I will explain as we go on.
As you can tell from these photos, Jack and I took a little road trip up to Chattanooga for a couple of days. I had been to the aquarium a while back but he never had, so we remedied that. I always enjoy Chattanooga. It's a great little city. Full of lots of fun things to do. We relaxed and had a great time.

I love how playful they were with the construction. I wish my company got to build such fun things. Instead, we get hospitals. Which are important; just not fun.

Lots of great art to see. These were actually in the aquarium exhibits. If I had tons of money, I would own these things. Beautiful craftsmanship.

Before we left I had a large firing to do myself. I made up two new glazes to test, which I thought came out very well. I am trying to come up with some brighter, more vibrant colors for my work. The green and gold on the square bowls are the new colors. What do you think?

Beautiful craftsmanship here too; just not by human hands. These were infinitely easier to get a decent shot of than the fish! They were very mesmerizing though.

These guys were just hanging there, so easy to shoot. If you live anywhere near Chattanooga and have never visited I would encourage you to do so. It's a lovely town.

We caught the free, electric buses that cruise the city and rode down to the Chattanooga Choo-Choo for breakfast. The Choo-choo is an old railroad depot that they turned into a restaurant. Great food and a cool place.

They have two rows of old railcars that they renovated and you can spend the night there if you like. Well, for an appropriate fee. These were part of the gardens in between the cars.

More alien creatures. I could feel my blood pressure slipping down, down, down watching these.

I love this guy's work. His name slips my mind at the moment though.

This piece looked exactly like it was made up of old driftwood but it was actually bronze. the patinas that can be put on metals are amazing.

This is the pedestrian bridge (there are two other bridges for vehicles) but we did not walk across it. I kinda wanted to but it was only like 1,000 degrees that day and getting later in the day, so we needed to head home.

This is the contemporary wing of the Museum of American Art. The concrete and metal work in this place was great! I enjoyed looking at it as much as the art itself.

So, you may ask yourself, what prompted this little excursion? Well, Jack and I wanted a little vacation before things change a little and we don't have as much time together. See, Daddy Rabbit called me a couple of weeks ago and he needs a certified welder on his job in a bad way. So, I agreed to go back to work. I know some of you may screech and moan at me but I figure maybe I should go. I'm not making much money with my pottery and I need the funds to finish this house. I have saved enough to finish this half I am in now but would really like to actually build the other half. Plus, it's for Daddy Rabbit. In a lot of ways I don't want to go. See, it's in another city far from here and I'll have to leave my home and Jack for maybe up to a year. It is in this state however, so I'll get to come home on the weekends, usually. But, that's the life of a construction worker.
So, I have been very busy trying to get loose ends tied up before I leave, plus do all the paperwork etc. that the company requires to come back on. I am going to try to maintain the places where I have pottery but I wanted to get a large inventory out before I left. I have also been trying to can and put up as much stuff out of the garden as I could. Jack will continue to harvest things and maybe I can do some more when I come home. I hate to leave him with all the responsibilities of this place but he says he's up for it.
I will continue to blog but my postings may be sporadic for a while, (as might my comments on your blogs) until I can get settled in the place where I am going stay. So, that's what's been going on here.

In The Meantime...

2011-08-01T22:53:00.003-05:00

Lots of pottery making going on! Not that I have a tremendous amount of orders but there is a reason behind it all.

Lots of corn harvesting going on too! I think I have picked around 50-60 ears so far. This is astounding to me because I have never had a successful corn crop until this year. We have been enjoying fresh corn on the cob and creamed corn but I have been trying to freeze a good amount also.

And all the ears are so pretty with NO worms!! without a drop of even an organic spray. They are not huge ears but they are decent and very tasty! This is Silver Queen, my favorite! Nomnom!!

And this is Chigger Queen!! She has been so hot lately, poor thing. All her hair is falling out. I have been brushing her, to help her shed. Maybe it offers some relief. She is always such a happy dog with such a good attitude. She is happy to be with you no matter what you're doing, although she really enjoys going on walkabouts. But she's a young dog; happy, happy, happy. Just wait 'til she hits menopause! Then she'll be crabby, crabby, crabby!! Haha!! maybe not.

I have to tell ya'll about this! The other day I was starting to work on the last little bit of siding on the gable end over the door. There were two small boards tacked up in the high part of the gable (for some reason) that I needed to pull down. We must have been using them for a temporary support or something. Anyway, so I get the ladder and climb up there and I'm starting to pry this board off the wall. I'm about 16 feet above the deck on this extension ladder also and they are really not my favorite thing to work off of. So, as I jiggle the board a little prying on it, this creature runs out from behind!! Now, how a spider as fat as my fingers could squeeze it's self into a crack that you would have trouble slipping a piece of paper into, I don't know but it freaked me out. All I could imagine was this spider, as I popped the board loose, would sense it's secure hiding place leaving and fling itself through the air onto anything it sensed was a stationary object; that being my head, neck or shoulders. If any of you remember, perchance, the caulking gun incident, you can imagine where my thoughts are going on this. It was not going to be pretty. I mean, look at that thing! It has HAIR!! Nothing that can be classified as 'bug', spider, what have you, should have hair!! It's not right! Let me also remind you that that is a 2 x 6 board that it is pictured on also, so you can see the proportions there. That scene from "Aliens" kept playing over and over in my head. Jack would come home to find me sprawled on the deck with Mr. Hairy suctioned to my face. I finally summoned all my courage and with one mighty swipe sent the board flying through the air while the octopod hairball fell straight down, thumping on the deck like a sack of flour. It gives me the willies just thinking about it. But you know what's even creepier? That thing fell near the front door. I kept an eye on it every time I would go in and out but after several times I came out and noticed it was gone...Had it jumped through the open door as I passed? Or just slipped through the deck boards to go under the house? Hhhm. Hey, where's Grendal? She was just here a minute ago...

Ramblin' (Wo)Man

2011-07-31T10:25:00.004-05:00

Hey, I'm back!! For now anyway. I'm feeling a bit better but still have a short bad spell here and there. Since I have been feeling better I've been very busy with a number of projects. You can see here that the garden is in full production mode! I've never had okra get this big before and I am having to pick it every day to keep up. The green beans are about the same way and the tomatoes are starting to speed up a little. Today will be spent preserving a number of things. I also have a good bit of pottery to get out and have actually started to work on the last bit of siding on the house again.
I have been wanting to post something these last few days but just haven't been able to wrap my head around any decent topic. Then I got to reading back through the blog, often several years back, and was struck at how (to me) boring this blog has become! Ugh! I don't know; just seems that I used to write a little more interesting post. These lately are just gardening, chicken etc. stuff. And not that that is not interesting sometimes but, I guess it's not very thought provoking. Maybe that's why I've had trouble posting sometimes, because this blog has never been about a particular subject. If you limit yourself to only writing about homesteading or such it's much easier to pick a topic. But, that's not me. I like to wander, both literally and figuratively and I'm in a wandering mood lately! It's funny too how that I have come to feel kinda obligated to you out there also, but I mean that in a good way. I don't mind. I've been writing so long that I feel like my readers are sort of a part of my life. Is that weird? I like to read ya'lls responses to things; hear your opinions and I feel like if I don't talk to you often enough we grow out of touch. Since being laid off I especially enjoy it because I don't have the interaction of people at work anymore. I know I have probably lost readers due to my scattered approach to blogging or I have just offended people with my talk! That's okay too. If you don't have a sense of humor you don't need to hang here. But many of you have been around a looong time and I appreciate that, even if you've never said a word. But I'll get you to talk to me one day my pretties! lololol! It's kinda funny that I do blog in a sort of scattered way because I consider myself a rather organized person; nitpicky even. But life is not organized often and I prefer to show things the way they really are. For some reason. Why would someone write about their life for all to see? Is it my ego? Or simply for acceptance? Hhhmm. Nah, I think it's just to make new friends.

I often go a week or more without leaving the homestead here. And for me, that can feel very isolating because I like to talk to people. Jack is good to understand this and to encourage me to take a day every so often to wander to the city. It is usually combined with business errands but I can ramble around and see new things. Take my time and explore a little, you know. We are even going to try to wander up to Chattanooga next week maybe for a short little getaway if we can. I often think that if I ever won the lottery, let's say, I would make arrangements for things to be taken care of here and then I would buy a very reliable, economical new vehicle and an atlas. Then I would just start driving and I would wander all over the United States. I would come home a few times a year I guess. I know that sounds weird because I have put some much effort into building this place and I love it here. But I just love to see new things. After I go for a while I get it out of my system and like being home again though.
So, that's my rambling for today. I just felt like chatting with ya'll about not much of anything. What are ya'll up to today? Anything exciting?! I may have some new topics to talk about soon and a new adventure to tell you about but I don't know for sure yet. Maybe a little more rambling before I'm done.

Rusted

2011-07-26T13:07:00.003-05:00

A reader asked me to show a few pics of the rebar handrail I did for the deck and how it had aged.

I had initially sprayed the whole deck and rebar with a light coat of thinned linseed oil. This lasted for a while but some rust is showing on it now. I need to clean everything this fall, go over the rebar with a wire brush and then respray it all. However, it looks fine; just a bit darker than when new.

I've actually been using the rebar to grow cucumbers and such, as a trellis. It works pretty good.

I have more tomato plants, herbs and flowers all along the railing to the right. With all the green everywhere, everything kinda blends together! But you get the idea. Of course, you can click on any picture to enlarge it and maybe see a little more detail.

I'm still feeling pretty bad so not up to full posting speed yet. Hopefully, I will be back at it again soon. In the mean time, stay cool! or warm, depending on what hemisphere you are in! Is there anything else someone would like to see or ask about the goings on here?

Ain't Nuthin' But A She Thang

2011-07-24T22:37:00.002-05:00

So, I would like to say that in this interlude of several days I have canned, froze and cooked to my heart's content and stored up all sorts of goodies for the coming winter months. Well, in reality I spent most of the time throwing my guts up while the fresh garden offerings sat on the kitchen floor. *sigh*
And no, I'm NOT pregnant! I just connected what I was typing to the title of this post. No, ya'll know better than that. I will say though, that the rest of this post will contain disgusting references to female physiology, so if any of you guys get really uncomfortable around that subject, then I suggest you stop reading now.
Now, my longtime readers know I have a couple of physical "abnormalities" that affect me occasionally; one being my heart and the other, well, my whole female system. LOL! I've never been quite right in that regard and have always had a few problems. Lately I've been having a few new... issues, let's say. So, I go to my doctor. He listens to me. He rubs his chin thoughtfully and says well, "it sounds like your ovaries are just giving out." What? Excuse me? Giving out?? Nothing on me 'gives out' until I'm done with it! I protested. I'm too young for that. "Weeelll," he says, while subtly leaning out of my reach, "not really..." He goes on to explain that the average age of complete menopause is 50 and many women start experiencing symptoms in their mid-40's, especially women with my, uhh, physical makeup. Holy Smokes. This sucks. I still haven't come to terms with not being in my 30's anymore!!
So, he asks me if I want to try a little natural estrogen to ease things a little, let's say. Well, considering the fact that I really would hate to choke Jack to death in his sleep one night I thought maybe I would give it a try, despite my natural distrust of any prescription medication. And after a couple of doses I felt a little better. Then the nausea started. I'll spare you the details but Jack was calling the pharmacy every 15 minutes asking if my doctor had called in that prescription for Zofran yet. I don't know if that finally helped or if I just passed out from the fatigue of constant puking. At any rate, I won't be taking that route again. I'm feeling a bit better today and actually canned a few pints of salsa I made from my fresh tomatoes, but this whole thing just sucks.
I'm not sure why it bothers me so bad. I have never enjoyed birthdays either. At least, not after the age of 20. I think such things just remind me that my time is running out and I haven't accomplished all I want to yet. I don't look disparagingly at older women. I don't feel that they are any less of a woman. It's just me. I don't want to be the wise, old gentlewoman. I want to be the fierce Amazon that strikes fear in the hearts of men! Or strike some part of their anatomy anyway..
So. Bleh. I know I'm still mostly young and all that dogshit, but what a pisser.

Runnin'

2011-07-22T09:05:00.003-05:00

Hey Folks!! Just a quick note to let ya'll know I haven't forgot about ya! I've just been very busy the past few days with a number of things I'll tell you about soon. The chickens keep me runnin' too! They are bottomless pits, these things! An open mouth every time you step outside. we let them run loose in the evenings and give them scratch, grass and fruits and veggies culled from the garden every day but they just can't be filled up.!

And, speaking of veggies from the garden, stuff is really starting to come in right now so I have got to do something with all this stuff. This was what I harvested yesterday afternoon but I went out this morning early and have LOTS more. An armload of corn, literally. I've got to can, pickle, freeze or cook all this! Plus, I also have a number of pottery orders to complete, so I'm kinda run hard right now. I have several good posts brewing for you though when I get back.
Ya'll be good.

Monday Munchies

2011-07-18T21:53:00.002-05:00

Alright, I finally have some food for ya'll!! And this is a two-fer!! The dish above is a new one I tried the other night and really enjoyed it so I thought some of you might like it because the ingredients are right in season for most of us. It's a great summer dish: light and fresh. My green beans have just started coming in also, so I was trying to find some new ways to serve them anyway and it is scrumptious if the items are just picked. It's quick and easy too!

Green Bean and Cherry Tomato Salad

1 1/2 pounds fresh green beans, trimmed
1 1/4 pounds cherry tomatoes, halved
1 teaspoon chopped fresh oregano
1 tablespoon minced shallots
2 tablespoons red wine vinegar
2 1/2 teaspoons olive oil
1/2 teaspoon salt
1/4 teaspoon freshly ground pepper

Cook bean in boiling water 7 minutes or until tender. Drain. Place beans, tomatoes and oregano in a bowl and toss gently to mix.
Combine shallots and vinegar, stirring with a whisk. Let sit for 10 minutes. Add oil, salt, and pepper to vinegar mixture, stirring with a whisk until well blended. Pour vinaigrette over bean mixture and toss well. Serve!

Now, I took a little liberty with this recipe and used basil instead of oregano, because I have it growing outside on the patio and think it goes well with tomatoes. I cut the amount of salt down a little and I used green onions instead of shallots. Oh, and I added a little feta, because feta goes with anything!
I served this with a grilled steak and roasted corn on the cob. Yummy!!!

Okay, now on to the cornbread. This is a pretty traditional southern meal; fried chicken, beans boiled with fresh taters and cornbread. It is also traditional in the South to serve fresh slices of tomatoes and cucumber with each meal in the summer, even breakfast, as they come in. No dressings or such; you just sprinkle a little salt or pepper on them if you want. Now, this is a true Southern cornbread recipe. It is very simple because Southerners were very poor back when this came about. No fancy ingredients or, God forbid, sugar. Please don't defile it by adding sugar and only use WHITE cornmeal. If mine has a golden cast it is because of the fresh, real egg in it. It astounds me that they actually sell cornbread mix in the stores because the recipe is so simple. I mean, it ain't much more than cornmeal and buttermilk. So,

Southern Cornbread or Cornpone

Now, this recipe is for a 6 inch skillet, so just multiply it or so. And you MUST use a cast iron skillet to cook it.

1 cup plain, medium grind cornmeal (WHITE)
1/4 cup all -purpose flour
1 1/2 teaspoons baking powder
1/2 teaspoon salt
1 large egg

Mix the dry ingredients well, then add the egg and mix until distributed. Add enough fresh buttermilk until batter is slightly pourable.
Now, as you mix the batter, you have your skillet heating on the stove with enough oil to cover the bottom well. You must use enough oil that when you pour the batter in, the oil shows a bit above the batter. I know this sounds kinda voodoo but Southern cooking is like that. I can't tell you exact measurements; you just gotta know by lookin' at it.
So, pour the batter in the hot, well-seasoned skillet (it should sizzle a little). This heat, and the right amount of oil assures a crispy crust. Then take the hot skillet and place in a oven preheated to 425 degrees. Bake for 15 minutes or so. Or until the top is toasty and a knife inserted comes out clean.
Now, some people don't use the egg and you can use regular milk but I think the buttermilk adds a little myself. Serve HOT and with lots of real butter.

Now, if you want to be real white, southern trash, take any cornbread leftovers and crumble them up in a cold glass of regular milk or buttermilk. Or at least, that's what my ex-husband used to call me for eating that! And I did say, EX-husband.

Hang On Little Tomato

2011-07-17T13:26:00.006-05:00

I skipped over the tomatoes in my last post because they are kind of a post unto themselves. The copper spray I used on them a couple of weeks ago seems to have helped the wilt problem. The 3 plants that were affected still look kinda funny but they are putting out pretty new foliage. Not many tomatoes on them though. The other plants, as you can see, are very vigorous! They are loaded with maters but are taking their own sweet time about ripening. May be that is due to the rainy weather we have had lately, I don't know. Even days when it has not rained it has often been very overcast.
I planted one row of Amish Paste and the plants that are doing well have produced very large tomatoes; just not ripe yet! The MoneyMakers, I'm not very impressed with and I may have mixed one Black Cherry in that row by mistake. The Moneymakers are all smallish tomatoes and I thought they were supposed to have been a larger, Beefsteak kinda mater. Could they have bred with the Black Cherry in their row?
At any rate, one row over is the Black Krim, which I really like! They are doing very well, don't seem bothered by the humidity and are producing a lot. They are ripening much faster than the others and have a great taste. They are a much sturdier plant too, while the others are long and straggly, and therefore haven't required the as much staking as the others.
All these plants received an organic, tomato specific fertilizer when they were planted, in addition to all that moo poo that was put over the entire garden, and have been side dressed with compost as it becomes available.

This is the one Black Cherry (that I'm sure about) that I planted in the garden. Now, it is doing very well. This thing is huge! I have really been impressed with this variety. It doesn't seem bothered by any disease and is very sturdy and prolific. And tastes VERY good!

I also planted, as an experiment, 2 Black Cherries and two Yellow Pear tomatoes in pots on the deck. They have done pretty good although they are not nearly as vigorous. They did start ripening before the ones in the garden and are producing a lot; just the plants themselves are kinda thin. In this photo you can see the difference between the Black Cherry from the garden, on the left, and the Black Cherry from the pot on the deck (right). They both taste good though! I like the size of the garden grown ones better, instead of those teeny ones. To me, that's a better snacking tomato.

Okay, I know I was supposed to put up a food post but I just haven't cooked anything lately that seemed like a good thing to share. Well, I did make some really good cornbread, true Southern cornbread, the other night and thought some of ya'll might like that recipe. I may put it up later.
Would anybody like that recipe?

Dirty Day

2011-07-15T21:02:00.007-05:00

Since Blogger has now made it near impossible to tell in what order your pictures are going to appear on the blog I am just going to start writing and maybe that title will make sense later! With this many pics I don't feel like trying to straighten them out. When I left you in the last post I was going out to dig potatoes, and we did. I have spent a lot of time in the garden the past couple of days actually, harvesting a number of things and I took a bunch of photos of what I saw. I have had a miraculous surge in the number of honey bees visiting my place!! The corn has just been swarmed with them but I couldn't get a good picture to save my life. So, I snagged one on the peppermint. I am just SO happy to see so many of them in my garden.

I have been very happy with some of the harvests so far and disappointed with others. I guess that's normal. This is what I picked today. There's a good bit of okra on the bottom that you can't see and I picked a good mess day before yesterday. For you non-Southerners, a "mess" is a description of volume or quantity. A mess is generally the amount that would make a good serving for a couple of people but it can vary.

The figs are actually doing well this year, at least so far. Hopefully, these babies will mature this year into sweet goodness. Both trees have quite a lot of buds.

So, to the original title. Jack helped me dig the taters. I don't think he enjoyed it. Well, it was hotter than hell, even at 8:00 a.m. and the humidity here has been like, 99% so it was not a lot of fun. I was happy that there were even potatoes to be dug and nothing had eaten them or spoiled them. I only dug the Red Pontiac and left the Goldrush in the ground to get a little bigger. Of the Red Pontiacs, we got 16 pounds. I was a little disappointed to say the least. I was hoping for a bigger harvest since I planted 4 pounds. And yes, I hilled them up several times. Maybe not enough though. This made my harvest come in at about $0 .81/ lb. Not much better than what you can buy them in the store. But, they are fresh and clean, chemical-wise anyway, and they were very pretty and blemish free for the most part.
My other root veggies were so-so also. I got about 5 pounds of onions and 2 1/2 pounds of garlic. Not record setting, but an improvement over what I have gotten in the past. I think as the soil improves here through natural amending, harvests will get bigger.

All of my herbs are doing well however, especially this parsley. Another blogger somewhere suggested growing parsley in with strawberries so I gave it a try. Seems to work! I have never done well with parsley but have harvested two large bunches from two of my plants already and should have much more if I want it.

The pepperocini peppers are doing great!! Peppers do well here for some reason, any kind. I have pickled 4 pints of these so far. After I taste them in a couple of weeks I'll give ya'll the lowdown.

The cantaloupe are doing well, at least by my standards. I have not had much luck with melons in the past but these are doing well so far. I harvested one small one yesterday that had ripened and it was sweeeet! Hopefully these will hang on. I hate to say this because i know the conditions of some parts of the US but we have had quite a bit of rain this past month and I'm afraid that with it and this humidity I might have some fungus problems in the garden. I have set each melon up on a plastic pot to avoid the wet ground and this seems to work.

This little crap has started to crow. It's pretty pitiful but they are trying. He started belting out the other morning and every chicken in the place stopped dead silent and looked around. They were like, "what the hell was that?" He strutted around anyway as if to say, "yeah, that's me! I'm bad! Uh-huh".

And watermelon!!! One big one so far and lots of little ones. These are Black Diamond and I have no idea how big they are supposed to get. Guess I could read the seed package. Or one of you could tell me if you have grown them yourself! I would say this one is pushing 15 pounds.

Doggone!

2011-07-14T08:58:00.003-05:00

The last week or so we have been letting the young chickens out late in the afternoon to forage. They have a blast with this! They just run everywhere, grabbing bugs and scratching, scratching, scratching. We only let them out for an hour or so and this way they don't wander too far into the woods. I have been pleased that Chigger doesn't bother them at all and in fact, seems to look after them a bit. I often see her laying in the shade with chickens all about her. I don't know if she just finds them curious or if she is really trying to watch after them. At any rate, I feel a little better with her around so maybe she would at least bark if a big critter were to come up.

Here is some of what we have gotten done on the tool shed. I have framed just a little more but not much! Maybe I can get back to that later today but this mornings chore is to dig the potatoes. I dug around yesterday under a couple of plants and I think they are more than ready as I got several taters the size of my palm. I hope I haven't let them get too big.
So, be back soon with the results!!

Laugh And Be Happy

2011-07-12T14:07:00.003-05:00

Island Rider asked if I would post the recipe for the pear butter I made so...here it is! Several years ago Mama gave me her Ball Blue Book. Now, anybody that knows about canning knows this is a very good book. I love mine. Anyway, this recipe came from there. It very simple and I thought the pear butter came out well and I don't even like pears a whole lot.. I imagine Ball's apple butter would be good too. So, anyway:

Pear Butter

2 quarts pear pulp
4 cups sugar
1/3 cup orange juice
1 teaspoon grated orange rind
1/2 teaspoon nutmeg

To prepare pulp: Quarter and core pears. Cook until soft, adding only enough water to prevent sticking. Press through a sieve or food mill. Measure pulp.
Add remaining ingredients; cook until thick, about 35 minutes. As mixture thickens, stir frequently to prevent sticking. Pour into hot, sterilized jars, leaving 1/4" head space. Adjust caps. Process 10 minutes in boiling water bath. Yield: about 4 pints.

Now, on several of their recipes I have reduced the amount of sugar, as I don't like things so sweet and have had no problems with that. Also, I make up my jams in half pint jars just because they seem to stay fresher, because the opened jar doesn't stay in the fridge so long, but that's just me.

Also, I want ya'll to go over and check out a new blogger, Dan!! He left me his link the other night and I really enjoyed his posts. Now, his writing is mostly humor, no homesteading stuff, but if you need a good laugh, head on over to Curmudgeon's Complaint.
Now, keep in mind my humor is kinda warped and his writings veer that way but I laughed until I had tears in my eyes.

So, back to work for me. Jack and I finally started framing the tool shed that links onto the chicken coop and we are trying to makes some progress before the rain comes back. Wish I could send some of it to places out there; I know some of ya'll need it real bad. I'll work on that.

Save It For Later

2011-07-11T11:34:00.004-05:00

Like most people who are into homesteading or self-sufficiency, I have finally tried my hand at canning, which is one of the better ways to preserve food through the winter. Now, when I was a kid my mom canned all summer, as did her mother, who lived next door. So, I was familiar with the process although I had never done it. I have to say I was a little intimidated, especially about making things like jam, things a little more involved than just sticking one type of vegetable in a jar and processing. At any rate, I made strawberry and blackberry jam and some pear butter and they seem to have come out fine.
In addition to having conquered another do-it-yourself activity, canning also gives an opportunity to save some money. Of course you have some start up costs, such as the water bath canner but I have been saving jars and such for a while so I only had to buy the lids. Since we live in a rural area we were also able to walk down the road and pick several gallons of blackberries and a few bags of fresh pears from a neighbor's tree. They don't use them and welcomed us to take them since Jack does a little yard work occasionally for the older lady of the house. I did buy the strawberries but got them at the local farmer's market so they were a better deal than the grocery store. All this considered the jams ended up only costing me nickels and dimes per jar, rather than the $3 or more you would pay for organic varieties.

Since being laid off I have naturally been looking for many ways to save money on food. Growing our own food is the best thing but there are a few things we still purchase so I thought I would try the couponing craze that is so popular right now. I signed up on several online sites and did find a handful of coupons that I could use, but by and large I was disappointed to see that most coupons are for processed or prepacked foods; stuff I don't use. There are the occasional coupons for cat food or litter or such but it is hard to find coupons for staples such as flour, salt and such. I have been observing other people in the stores also to see how they do it but haven't found much useful info. For example, I saw 2 ladies one day that had their buggies just loaded down to overflowing with food and they had their coupon notebooks with them all categorized and such. I got to looking at their stuff and suddenly realized that the vast majority of what they were buying was junk. Snack cakes, sugary cereal, juice boxes etc. So, what's a person that wants to eat healthy to do but grow your own?! Since the garden has been producing my food bill has dropped a good bit. I used to spend about $100 every 10 days (on average) for me and Jack. Now, I'm down to maybe $50-60 every 10 days and some of that is for treats, not absolute necessities. The best thing I have found, other than growing our own, is I shop at a store that does a lot of 2 for 1 deals and when they have a staple product (like flour) that I use on special I stock up. I have been making my own chicken stock and such for a while now and will add salsa, soups and many other sauces etc. to that list now that I have the canning stuff. One nice thing about the couponing, (and maybe a good side to a poor economy) is that people seem to not only be looking out for themselves but looking out for others too. I have had several instances of being in the grocery store and looking at a product, or have it in my buggy, and another lady will come up and just hand me a coupon for it because she had extra. And I mean good $1.00 or more off coupons. I talked to one lady about the fact that I hadn't been able to find many for the products I use and she could relate. She did give me some tips on several area stores that had specials on certain days too. She had a whole system worked out!
So, while I think producing your own food is the best way to economize, there are other ways. Anybody have any other tricks or ideas for getting a good deal on things you have to buy?

Reach A Little Further

2011-07-10T11:25:00.003-05:00

Well. After about 21 years of trying, I finally created an art object that fully represents what I have seen in my mind. I finally... made the perfect mug. Now, as Jack has said, it really doesn't look much different than many of the other mugs I have made. Not to someone else anyway. But, to me it does. And when I pick it up, I cannot feel any error in it. Not see, mind you. Feel. I will not sell this one. This one is mine.
I suppose some would say that if this is a first after 21 years that I am being a bit too picky. Maybe they would be correct. Maybe not. Unless yo have a creative nature if is very difficult to explain to someone how most artists are not satisfied with their work. I mean, you can be satisfied with many pieces that you have come reasonably close to your mind's eye but it is a very elusive thing to hit it dead on. That's why many artists are so prolific; it's a constant struggle to get closer and closer to what you see in your head. It's like target practice with a bow or gun, except you are wearing a thin blindfold. You can see just enough to know what to create but you don't know if you've hit the bull's eye until it's completely finished.

I know also that in my building I am probably overly picky also. I overbuild. This is good to some extent and I'll let you in a a little secret. I do it partially because I'm lazy. Once that projects done, I don't want to ever have to fool with that again. As per many comments I have received in person and such I apparently came off as being a psycho, maniacal control freak in the post "Distant Early Warning". Now everyone I know if afraid to let me see anything they have built or even any drawings they have made for building. Let me clarify some things, please. I don't have any problem with people that don't know how to build. Not everyone in this life knows how or cares to know how. Or even could do it well if they tried to learn. Some people just don't have that talent but they have other talent. (Like making lots of money so you can pay a good carpenter! Ha!) What I have a problem with, and I tried to explain but I know I don't have the talent for explaining, is people that don't know how to build but present themselves as an authority to others. Now, I have a BIG problem with that and unfortunately, the Internet gives these people a very wide audience to spread their misinformation to. And even if they clarify that you should do your own research and such there are many people out there that make building sound overly simple, that if those dumb ol' construction workers can do it I can too or that they used to do a little house framing so now they know how to build a high-rise. Building is not rocket science but you do have to understand some basic laws of physics and geometry. I was only trying to say to please, watch who you get your advice from on these blogs. Be very careful about building anything exactly like you have seen it built on some website. A lot of these bloggers like to present themselves as the true Edifice Rex! (joking!) because they know you can't see their work in person. They know they would get laughed off a real job site so their blog is an area where they can pad their ego. You can't see the back side of that wall where their form blew out. You can't see that footing that cracked all to hell or their rat sill that rotted out because they didn't use pressure-treated lumber. They may occasionally tell you, "yeah, I made a little mistake" but if you notice, they'll never show a close enough picture for you to see how bad it really was. And, as I said, even watch what I do because it may not comply with code for your area. I have done things to my house, say, because of the threat of termites, that people up north don't have to do. If nothing else, some of these people will cause you to do a lot more work than is needed simply because they don't know how to work efficiently or do not know the products available. I have seen them pour walls (concrete) that took over a year, multiple pours and about twice the money simply because they didn't know how to form a wall correctly using the hardware available now that would have allowed it done all at once or two pours at the most. I want to make one other thing clear too: I was NOT referring to anyone whose blog I link to or who is a regular reader/commenter here. I would never link to anyone that I felt was misleading people, no matter how entertaining they are.
So, call me a hard ass or a smart ass if you want, but I'm looking out for you! Buyer and builder beware!

Friday Food!

2011-07-08T14:10:00.004-05:00

I thought Hermit Jim's suggestion of doing one food post a week was a real good one and I believe Friday is the traditional time to put such up, so here you go! I know this is a fairly crappy photo but you get the idea. I had recently started making some half size pie plates (about 6 inches) and I always like to actually bake in any new product I make, just to make sure it works okay and doesn't crack into a million pieces. And, since I now have lots of eggs to work with, I thought I would find a recipe that used several eggs at one time. The mini-pie dish is in the background and one of my lunch plates is holding a piece of quiche.
Now, I'm not much on real fancy dishes, quiches and such, but this one sounded really good and easy. And it is! This is a crustless quiche too, so it's fast. You have a basic quiche recipe to which you can add whatever fillings you want, if any. I added potato, onions and mushrooms but you could add whatever variety of veggies you have on hand if you think they go well together.
Now, I will give you the amounts I used for a 6 inch dish, so if you are making one for several people and using a standard 9 inch pie dish or similar, just double the recipe.:

Basic Crustless Quiche

1/4 cup butter
5 eggs (4 if really large)
1/4 cup all purpose flour
1 teaspoon baking powder
1/8 teaspoon salt
1/2 cup cottage cheese
1/2 cup or so of grated jack cheese (or whatever you like)

Melt the butter. Whip the eggs until fluffy and add the flour, baking powder, salt, cottage cheese, melted butter (cooled slightly) and the cheese. Fold in whatever veggies you have ready. Pour the mixture into a greased baking dish and top with a little more grated cheese.

Now, I had already taken one medium potato and diced into 1/4 inch thick chunks, a small onion (same way) and about 1 cup of sliced, fresh mushrooms and sauteed this with 2 cloves of minced garlic until the veggies were just starting to turn translucent. I seasoned this mixture with a little salt and pepper, a little fresh parsley and oregano and then folded it into the egg mixture.

Bake at 400 degrees for 15 minutes, then reduce to 350 and bake another 25 or 30 minutes or until top is slightly brown and a knife inserted comes out clean. Cool a little, then slice and serve!

Like I said, I'm not a huge fan of omelets or such but this was really good. It had a wonderful creamy texture and flavor.
Oh! and the mini-pie dishes are available for only $16 + shipping if anybody would like one!!

Peekaboo

2011-07-07T06:29:00.003-05:00

I noticed in a couple of the last posts that I may have confused a few of you with those large hens I had pictured. About 6 weeks ago or so Jack and I bought 3 full grown hens so that we would have eggs now, rather than wait on these pullets to get up and those were the hens you saw pictured. We do still have the 21 young chickens also, which are getting pretty big, but they were not the large black and white barred ones in the post about pest control.
Anyway, we got those 3 hens from a young lady in a county north of us who raises a lot of chickens. She had these hens in with a couple of roosters and Jack got to thinking about that after we got the hens home. I happened to mention to him that hens will stay fertile for up to 3 weeks ( I think) after they have been with a rooster and a light bulb went off in his head. He decided it would be great to hatch some of those eggs. Jack has never raised any kind of animals before so all these chickens kind of fascinates him and he is all excited about anything to do with them. So, he wanted to see chicks hatch. Since we have been very pleased with the Barred Rocks laying ability, I figured "sure", wouldn't mind having a couple more of those myself. And, since Allen just happened to have just bought an incubator, we figured, why not? So, Jack gathered 2 eggs from each of the 3 hens and we put them in the incubator. We waited 21 days and sure enough, I heard peeping one day coming from the incubator! Four of the six eggs hatched. We could easily tell which eggs came from which chicken and noticed, oddly enough, that Bertha's eggs were the 2 that didn't hatch. She is the largest and oldest of the hens. I don't know what the deal was there, she is certainly young enough to still be producing. Maybe she told the roos to go fly a kite! Anyway, after a stressful couple of days (for us, not the chicks) we got 4 little babies. We had to help 3 of them out of their shells as they had not been able to completely free themselves even after 24 hours of trying. I wasn't sure how they would do but, as you can see, they are now a handful of very rambunctious chicks. Jack built a little playpen for them to stay in during the day and at night they go back in the tub in the coop. With my luck we got all roosters in this four but I can't really tell at this point. I do know they are very spoiled though and a lot more friendly than the others due to being handled so much since hatching. If you put your hand down in their pen they will run and jump up in your palm so you can get them out. They are a hoot!

About a week ago I started a list of subjects to write about here and it has helped organize my thoughts quite a bit. I still get in rambling moods though and have been in one lately. I often feel like I'm not posting about much that is interesting and feel that is reflected in the lack of comments at times. I guess since I've stopped working commercial construction and have "settled down" with Jack this blog isn't as "fun" as it once was! lol! I don't know. I certainly don't have the...uhhh.... adventures... I once did! But I still feel compelled to write because the house isn't finished and that is what I started writing for. I guess that seems odd. Well, that is not entirely true. I have written this blog because I enjoyed the conversation and meeting of other people, albeit not in person. I wish I could come up with some more topics that invited discussion however, because I often feel out of sorts publishing these 'here I'm the great authority on this subject' posts. I would hate to think that my writings suggests that I don't want to hear other people's opinions or thoughts because that is definitely not the case. At any rate, I'm trying to come up with a more organized and informative approach to my posting so that it may be of some help to somebody out there.

Funny How Time Flys (When You're Having Fun)

2011-07-03T23:42:00.003-05:00

Take us to your leader!

Grandpa, from The Munsters, I swear.

"Boy, Ah say Boy, you 'bout as sharp as a bowling ball..."

Lots of eggs...

Natural fireworks