A Little Bit Of A Mystery!

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

 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!)

 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!!)

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

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!

 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

 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

 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

 '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

 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)

 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

 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

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

 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

 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

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

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

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.