Almost Spring/Another Bug, Saving Money/Bread Machine, New Coop Coming!

Almost Spring/Another Bug-

*** FYI, I made the font BIG to fit on cellphones screens and read. If too big please leave a comment. I work off a laptop to blog, but also read on my phone. Thanks! ***

Spring is almost here, maybe! Temps have been up and down, snow then thaws. Today very cold gusting winds! Brrrr.....  Just when I was feeling better (after my cough and cold in January)  Dave got sick again (same bug) and then I got sick again. Oh brother. The only good thing was I didn't get a cough this time. I had a cold, minor scratchy throat then I woke up on a Wednesday with my right ear really, really hurting. Luckily my regular PCP was squeezed me in that day so I didn't have to sit in Urgent Care. I had a good ear infection, with the left ear percolating. Onto the antibiotics! I'm feeling much better now almost normal. Will start some probiotics as soon as the antibiotics are done doing their job. I'm going to work on trying to de-stress a bit more, if that is possible given the current state of affairs in the US. Will work on boosting my immune system and staying healthy. Being prepared for this kind of thing is also really good.  We had all kinds of OTC and homeopathic remedies at home, so when I did start coming down with something I didn't have to go anywhere to buy anything. 

Something fun, a mug!

Saving Money/Bread Machine-

As usual I'm always working on saving money, but I really upped it the last couple months. I did buy the cute tea cup with a bamboo lid and spoon (the blue fish on top) just for fun, makes me smile! I knew the tariffs were coming and so I wanted to do some strategic buying in January. I have to mention- I'm very grateful that Dave and I bought our new (to us) slightly used Subaru Crosstrek in October. Got a great deal, runs perfect, lots of warranty left, super safe. Very thankful, especially now. I did load up on some things on Amazon, especially ones that were also on sale. Costco too. I stocked up on some raw chicken breasts with ribs and Italian sausage. I repackaged in vacuum sealed bags and froze. I've been getting some great deals on eBay. I was looking for a lighter down coat for spring. I found a great deal a few years back for my super warm LL Bean down coat. Luckily I stumbled upon another great deal! An LL Bean down jacket, was $130.00 on the website. The seller had it listed for $35, like new. I got it down to $22.00! Lighter weight, really comfortable, nice and toasty-

Bonnie photo bombed!

 

Sadly my second thrift store bread machine did not work well. It was older than the last one I had. I decided to invest in a new one that makes the larger size loaves. I did some research on Amazon and looked around and bought this, on sale on Amazon for $115.00- 

Has two paddles for mixing

It works fine, nice size, took me several tries to get the loaf right. One didn't really rise, second one collapsed when it cooled too fast, my fault. Finally on about the 4th or 5th loaf  I got a good one! I simply doubled my honey oat/whole grain recipe I had used before. It made a big loaf, had a little bit of cracking on the top but I let it cool really slowly which seemed to have fixed the other problems- 

Well it did have a shallow crack along the top, but at least it rose really well and is a standard size sandwich loaf. Really nice and moist (photo makes the bread look weird, it's not)-

 I stocked up on some things at Costco. I like their new Kirkland rolled Oats, hadn't seen those before-

 

I went to Ross a few days ago and got some pretty decent gardening tools for $4 each. I really like the trowel since it was much deeper and you can pick up more dirt/compost with it, also bought some rope for tying materials down on the Outback-

 

When we were going through Home Depot looking at a few things they had some really nice house plants which I've been wanting. $5.00 each. One dracena in the pot actually had two plants! I always put a primrose in the spring on my windowsill and then the others went into pots around the house-

We did a little reorganization in our office spare bedroom/ pantry closet area. We had a small stainless steel rack that we had bought several years ago for extra storage. It was just getting to be a catch all though. It dawned on me that we could probably sit it under our counter buffet area in the dining room and just get it out. Dave and I move some things on to our pantry rack, donated a few things and then Dave was able to move it under the buffet where I can get things a lot easier. Now the office doesn't look quite so crammed and gave us room for our second desk chair. We donated our other desk a while back since we really didn't need two desks at home anymore-

 

Poor Dave had to move a few things first under the buffet, which was a desk originally-

Someday I want to pull the counter out, replace with butcher block, Dave can build some nice shelves

 

 

 

 Silver rack on left moved and filled 

I used the same fabric in the kitchen for the buffet skirt, still love the print!

New Coop Coming!

I've been keeping an eye on the coop this winter and was really seeing a lot of damage from all the years. Considering the fact that we built the coop with MOSTLY recycled materials it has held up for 12 years! Not bad. Dave and I talked about investing some money that we came into and decided to building a new coop. We will recycle a few components but most of the other materials are pretty shot. I'm not unhappy with how long it lasted but it does need to be replaced. We really like the siting of it, gives the chickens shade in the summer and a break from the storms in the winter. We're going to do a little bit different design with a shed roof, move the door to the front facing the house, and have a nesting box that doesn't protrude. Will keep basically the same footprint. We're also going to incorporate a little bit of storage for the feed. We've just kept the feed in a steel tote in our garage. Here's a few shots of the current state- 

Frame on bottom of window rotting/warped, Sunny and Luna photo bombed!

OSB de-laminated

 

We're getting lumber this weekend and will start building soon, photos coming!  I also told Dave I'd really like to build a cold frame in front of the coop in the existing garden space. It would enable us to grow some cooler weather crops earlier in the year. So we will buy some extra lumber for that as needed or use the scrap left over from the coop. Given the current state of affairs I am leaning toward not taking down our apple tree in the front yard but having it professionally pruned instead. I think it would be better to have more home grow fruit this year than not. It would also be cheaper to have it pruned than removed. I'm getting an estimate next week. Chicks coming in a few months, but at least we're getting 1-2 eggs most days now. Good girls!

 

Bulbs from early December finally bloomed!!!

Bonnie enjoying the winter sun-

Independence Days Challenge, Happy St. Patricks' Day!

 

Independence Days Challenge-

We have finally been getting some spring weather the last week or two. We had some snow off and on the last month but finally broke into the 60s. Supposed to be was pushing 70 today! We've been getting some rain off and on which we definitely need since we're high desert here. Grass is greening up and bulbs are up. The chickens are really enjoying getting out more with a nice weather. Debbie is still hanging in there, I have no idea how. The Vet said almost a year ago that she didn't have much time left. She's still eating and moving around, just slowly. I think because animals don't have belief systems like we do that they can hang on a lot longer. I'm thinking about getting two or three chicks early in the summer. Debbie hasn't laid for a year and the other two don't lay much between October and April. I'm always fearful of having just one chicken in the end. They don't do well alone from what I've read. With times being the way they are not bad to have extra eggs to sell/barter. I learned the hard way not to get chicks too early in the year, then you have to keep them inside in the cold weather until they feather out. The hatchery we use locally sells chicks until almost June. Works much better for us and the chicks!

1. Plant Something- 

 Will be starting some herb/flower seeds soon.

 

2. Harvest Something-  

Eggs, one to two every day! So great to have the two girls back in production. Chives are up, collard greens wintered over. 

 

3. Preserve/Store Something- 

I will be making some South American fermented Curtido soon. Bought 3 extra Irish Soda bread loaves from Trader Joe's, freezes great! Bought Dave some extra socks/shirts on sale.

 

4. Manage Reserves- Get a Good Deal/Barter/Stock Up/Prep-  

I have been buying and freezing extra meats and cheeses. We just had to buy a new washer and dryer but got a really good deal. I did have to remind the salesperson we were on a budget. We recently got new batteries for both cars. My husband won a gift certificate that paid for our overnight anniversary Hotel in McCall, that was great! Found some great Eddie Bauer percale sheets marked way down, love the blue ticking stripes!

I bought a plain wood box for some storage, used the water based wood stain I have used before, still drying, but nice! $10.99 at the craft store. Easy cleanup with the water base-

 

$2.99 a bottle, have one bottle leftover

5. Eat the Food- Try New Foods/Recipe-  

I am embracing my newfound Scandinavian DNA with exploring more Scandinavian foods I'm not familiar with. I had found out about a famous American Scandinavian Chef I had never heard about Beatrice Ojakangas. She has some great YouTube videos with a lot of different types of food. I found three of her cookbooks used on eBay and bought some. One is on baking with tons of really unique whole grain bread recipes. I'm looking forward to trying some! The other book is on it's way-

 

6. Build Community Food Systems-  

Too early for the farmers market.

 

7. Recycle/Re-Use-  

We are looking at removing the rest of the turf in the front yard. We may move some of our plants from the backyard to the front as well as start some from seed. We'd really like to eliminate mowing and I've been pushing Dave to do this for sometime. He has been re-inspired when he saw a family members yard in Portland. I'd like to have some nice raised beds and more shrubs/pollinators.

 

8. Skill Up-  

Been wanting to expand the types of breads that I make and I think the new cookbook will help. I'm learning new Physical Therapy exercises with my physical therapist for helping my back strength post surgery. Going really well so far!

 

9. Regenerate What is Lost/Salvage Something-  

Had all our carpets steam cleaned, looks much better! Also doing my physical therapy. My back is stabilizing and I'm starting to get some endurance back. When you're in a lot of chronic pain you don't move around much and really affected my strength/endurance walking. But I'm doing much better lately. Hope to be on my bicycle and riding with Dave by summer. I decided to redo a little bit of my kitchen decor and I removed my aqua colored antique jars and a little sign I had. I decided to go with something a little bit more Scandinavian. I bought a nice print for $5 on Etsy and printed it myself it's a famous Finnish concept, Sisu, artist on Etsy is BellissiCasa -

 

I already had the frame so I just printed it out, cleaned up the frame and it's perfect on the kitchen counter. Then I also have another smaller frame and I found a free Dala Horse folk art print that I printed and fit in. I added my little Shamrock wreath for St Patrick's Day. It's nice to freshen things up a bit! And only cost me $5.00-

 

I stored all my other items, but for now it's a nice refresh!  I bought a cute Dala Horse garden flag, going out soon-

 

 

Happy St. Patricks' Day! 

I made my corned beef last weekend since Dave was out of town this weekend. Made carrots and cabbage to go with it and bought some of Trader Joe's Irish soda bread, which is so delicious! Moist and has Caraway seeds. It was nice to have a weekend to myself to do some little projects here.

Time For A Blogging Break

 

Time For A Blogging Break-

Things have been winding down for me for quite a while, in the blogging realm of things. I've always loved reading and then I also really learned to enjoy writing. I've been blogging for quite a while and I've never made any money off of it, which is fine. I was never one of those people who wanted to monetize my social media to make big bucks, especially in the early days. The 13 years of blogging has left lots on my blog for people to peruse if they want to. I'm just not feeling really inspired to write much right now. In general- my back is healing up well, that is good, and one of our chickens layed the first egg since last Autumn!

The snow has melted here with record highs, almost 67° last week. We're getting some of the rain from the moisture stream in California. 

On the other side of things- my spiritual side is calling and so I am going to be going a little bit more inside. At some point I may be little bit more external and write.  I don't know if that'll make sense to people but it makes sense to me. I find that spiritual growth for me seems to come in waves and cycles. It was interesting after seeing the series from HBO His Dark Materials DVDs from the library (10 stars!) it got me interested in The I Ching again. Funny how things work out that way sometimes. 

Otherwise everything is doing really well here and I'm looking forward to Spring. I may get three new pullets to expand our little flock since I have two who will be laying. Debbie, God bless her, is still with us but not laying (for the last year). I frankly don't know how she's hanging on but animals can be quite inspiring. The Vet last spring made it sound like she would be expiring soon. That was almost a year ago! I've given her extra TLC this winter by lifting her up onto the perch at the end of the day so she can be up there with her friends. She's still cleaning herself,  eating and moving around. I think some animals don't have a belief system about death, so they just keep putting one foot in front of another until they decide not to anymore. Time will tell with her. Otherwise we'll still be here and I may throw in a post now and again. Explore some older posts and will still be on Instagram, link on the side bar. THANKS FOR ALL YOUR SUPPORT!!!

 

 

Food Price Increases/Being Prepared, Independence Days Challenge!

Food Price Increases/Being Prepared- 

It's still hot and smoky, but we're hanging in there! Flowers are blooming, the pond is full of Water Lettuce! Makes me feel cooler hearing the water running-

Weeks and weeks of 100 degrees. We did actually get down to 58 the other morning which is almost like Autumn weather. We may have some possible rain on the horizon later this week just hope it won't spark any fires. Still smoky-

I thought these two different blog posts go together given the current state of food prices, etc. Like most people I've been seeing food prices going up over the last year. I was reading last night that food prices have increased by around 60% in the last 12 months. I certainly realize that may not be true for every area and every type of food stuff. It does really show them a very alarming trend that I think is not going to end anytime soon. Having watched the news you can see about the flooding in the Midwest, droughts in the West. I was hearing about droughts in China as well. When you have foreign countries that are buying up huge amounts of American commodities it does make you wonder where we are headed?  People sometimes take for granted that you just go to the grocery store and there's food there. I recently saw an article on the BBC about the shortage of truck drivers in the UK. The shortage of  drivers left some grocery stores with some empty shelves. Because they left the EU many of their foreign truck drivers left and went back to Europe. Driver shortage here too! Interesting article here China Buying Corn and Clogged Ports. I read there's a wheat shortage in China too, interesting article here and how Australia is responding ABC.NET.AU   Our breadbasket, California, farmers and growers are really struggling with the heat and drought there too. California 1000's of Farmers Losing Water Access  I heard this last night though that gave me a good reminder- 

There's no downside to being prepared

That's really true! What's the downside to getting good deals, storing extra foods, water, etc? After we went thru a tough time a few years back (Dave's layoff) we realized we did so much better than most other people. We had savings, a freezer and a pantry. We also think outside the box. I love eating out, but realized right now I need to do more creative cooking and invest the $ elsewhere. Like food! Better to be prepared than caught off guard. Just do a little every week, every pay check, then pat yourself on the back! 

 

Independence Days Challenge-

Here' what we've been up to! I have been re-reading Sharon's book, still very relevant to today! Great ideas! 

1. Plant Something-

We bought a few more peppers and tomatoes as some of ours died. I started some collard green seeds in a pot since many of mine in the ground died. Ironically I did notice yesterday I have about five or six little tiny collard green plants in the ground! I guess they survived the blistering heat after all. I am going to go ahead and transplant some of the seedlings into the garden when they get a little bit bigger-

Need to thin

2. Harvest Something-

Things growing...

Kale, nice and tender!

Kohlrabi, not sure if we'll get the heads?

Hens photo bombed

Tomatoes coming soon

Pickling cukes

"German Queen" heirloom tomato, bought for Dave's German Mom!

Peppers and strawberries soon

Last 3 strawberries, at least one heirloom survived! 

Tons of eggs! Pickling cucumbers, Basil, and blackberries are almost ready! 

Not much of a harvest this year for some reason, not sure why since they seem to like wet springs. I'm wondering if it's just the really brutal heat we've been having?

3. Preserve/Store Something-

I checked some of our pantry food supplies, didn't have a whole lot of protein on hand except for beans and rice. At Costco today I bought some wild-caught salmon to freeze, and some canned pulled pork. I have a pretty good supply of tuna which is good! Already some beef and pork in the freezer. Lots and lots of eggs, many of which I am starting to freeze. Will buy some canned Salmon soon to store, nice protein!

 

4. Manage Reserves- Get a Good Deal/Barter/Stock Up/Prep-

Bought half price tomatoes and pepper plants. We do have lots of peaches coming up fairly soon for canning and freezing. Looking forward to that! Dave spotted lots of unsalted butter 1/2 price and bought 5, I am freezing in vacuum sealed bags. 

My neighbor always gives us her rhubarb and it looks like some of it will be right soon. It freezes so well! Nothing like a rhubarb strawberry cobbler.  I must say I really love having my little vacuum sealer, great for freezing! I also bought some extra nuts (pecans) as well as has a large 20 Lb bag of sugar (canning soon).  I decided I'm going to stock up on some whole wheat pastry flour while prices are what they are. There's a lot you can do if you can bake basic things from scratch. 

 

5. Eat the Food- Try New Foods/Recipe-

I'm switching back to more whole grain recently, cleaning up our eating. I had left over chicken breast and modified this recipe Fried Catfish BLTs -

I used chicken and cherry tomatoes on ciabatta rolls, fabulous! I also tried this Shrimp sandwich, lovely! Shrimp Salad Sandwich w/ Lime Aioli I used Dave's Killer Bread WW hamburger buns (on sale)-

Great on a hot day, no cooking! I added diced celery, home grown cuke and red onion. Tried some Keto ice cream bars at Costco, not bad! I'm buying some herbal teas with no caffeine, easy to use too much. I also found new Kodiak products, we love their pancake mix! 

Will try these then maybe make my own

6. Build Community Food Systems-

Went to our local farmers market out in Caldwell the week or two ago. Bought some amazing fresh garlic, cream, some breads and a pie. Will go out again soon. 

 

7. Recycle/Re-Use-

I have upcycled a thrifted hose reel. Dave cut off the fleur-de-lis so I could reattach it in another spot. He removed the hose reel part too. Nice rusted patina, but I painted it flat brown since it was a bit scraped. I tried construction adhesive that didn't work too well so Dave screwed it together for me and I touched up the paint-

I donated some nice wools sweaters, shoes and extra planters recently. Found some nice, low cost tops on eBay. Low prices, high-end brands. I love things that last! Used my 3 year old collard seeds and they sprouted! 

 

8. Skill Up-

Learning all kinds of new things about my new job and benefits! Reading up a lot more about commodities the last few days. I am re-reading my book 

 

9. Regenerate What is Lost/Salvage Something-

I thought I might have to buy a new desk for my new job at home, but realized I needed to just reconfigure it. Since we may be going back into the office this fall I really didn't want to spend the money for any desk anyway. I'm working my and cooking more since we just got into some really bad habits the last 6 months. More whole grains, high proteins, lower carbs and more fruits and veggies. 

And now some flowers!