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-

Big Snow Coming!

 

Big Snow Coming!

It's been a while since we've had a "winter storm warning". Should be hitting this morning. Will be interested to see if we get actual white out conditions? We are "high desert" here so snow is really critical for our water tables, reservoirs, etc. All set and prepared here, chickens all ready. They love using their sun room in the winter for extra space. A year ago looked like this, great for dust baths and hanging out-

 

 

 

 

Cold, Cold and Snow! Independence Days Challenge

Cold, Cold and Snow!

Well we have been through quite the cold spell! Our cold weather at night had been in the teens. Our backyard looked like a small iceberg graveyard-

 

 

Every day I've been emptying out our back deck bird bath and refilling it with water. It's only been in the 30s lately during the day and with the cold at night the ice just isn't melting out on the lawn. Looks pretty funny! The good news was we had some warmer weather blow in, then got some rain. We desperately needed some moisture, it'd had been so dry for weeks and weeks. We did get a little snow early last month.

 

After a round of food poisoning (bad fast food) I got hubbie's dry, hacky cough and cold, oh joy. Luckily I had all the meds I needed on hand and didn't have to go anywhere. Finally got rid of the sinus part and got my energy back. I fell a bit behind on some projects, but I'm playing catch up now. I'm very grateful to be home currently, so I was able to rest and sleep as much as I needed. Then we finally got some real snow this week! Started last Thursday night, woke up to about 3", then got about another inch the next day, gorgeous! Colder weather came in. High today was 32 and hazy. More snow in the forecast soon, with lows near ZERO soon! We added more pine shavings to the coop, girls are nice and toasty! The "sun room" we added to the left of the coop is giving the hens nice extra dry space. They use it daily!  

 

Independence Days Challenge:

So here's what's been happening at the little Homestead...

1. Plant Something- Still winter, but did save/move a fern after my Trader Joe's Amaryllis bulb garden finished blooming-

I removed the bulbs and added fresh potting mix to the fern. Looks good!

2. Harvest Something- The hens finally started laying last week! No eggs since about October. I'm grateful I started our little flock years ago. I will probably get a few more chicks later this year for a larger flock. Debbie is still alive, leaving only two laying. Sunny the Brown Leghorn lays white eggs, Luna my Silver Laced Wyandotte lays brown. I like buying mixed varieties of chickens so that I can tell who's doing what-

Sunny laid first!

3. Preserve/Store Something- Froze some chicken parts, will be making some relishes to store in the fridge. Bought some extra rice to store. Will thaw some home grown tomatoes for pasta sauce and peaches for some desserts. I may also can some, didn't have time last summer.

 

4. Manage Reserves- Get a Good Deal/Barter/Stock Up/Prep- Trying to avoid tariffs I bought/will be buying a few things. Bought a used bread machine, thrifted after my old (thrifted) one died. I was able to find most of the owners manual online, made my first batch of bread, came out great.  Loaves are a little smaller but I can make bread as needed. Too much arthritis to hand make breads. Bought two funnel neck Nike hoodies for myself on eBay (used, like new) warm and cute! I hate crew necks-

Found some new sneakers 40% off on-sale on Amazon, love Sketchers!

 

Will be buying hubby Dave a few things right away, like his sneakers, etc. Bought a few cans of protein powder mixes (non dairy) on sale. We can't do much dairy. Bought a nice, small little rice cooker that works great! $20.00 Amazon, makes perfect rice, all kinds, always had trouble getting rice perfect every time, no more-

 

5. Eat the Food- Try New Foods/Recipe- We went out to a Japanese dinner the week of Japanese New Year and were gifted with a free thermos with the restaurant's name, how fun!

 

 

In honor of Japanese New Year I bought a little snake figurine at the Asian store (year of the snake), and then two lucky cats. The cats are called Maneki Neko, one for prosperity and one for good health, in my entry way-

 

I'm starting to make some simple Japanese food. I re-did part of my kitchen counter in the corner with some of the basics like sticky rice, etc.I got out a few things that I thought looked nice and added them. Since I'm a visual person hopefully this will inspire me and make it easy to find what I need. The two matching containers and bamboo vase were thrifted-

I had an extra planting box left over that I cleaned up, filled with various seasonings making them easier to find in the cabinet-

 

I like how it came out! I made a fun little bunting with some free sushi cat clip art. I printed on photo paper and strung on thread. I love it! 

 

 

 

We're really fortunate we live five minutes from a huge Asian food store, the biggest in the area. Their staff is also really helpful in finding things! My first dish I made is called Onigiri, or rice balls. Usually made in a triangle with different fillings for snacks or lunches. These had Bonito flakes/soy sauce and pickled ginger, yummy! I wrapped them in Nori, added some whole grain rice mix for more nutrition-

 

6. Build Community Food Systems- No farmer's markets yet. May start selling some eggs to friends with prices the way they are. I suspect a lot of people will be buying chicks soon, hopefully they will do their research first. I may do a "how to start your first urban flock" post soon.

 

7. Recycle/Re-Use- We donated several boxes of holiday decor, clothes, kitchen items, shoes, etc. Bought a used bread machine $12.00, I got a few years out of my last thrifted $10.00 machine! 

 

I've been looking more critically around the house, getting rid of more decorative items I didn't really use. I donated quite a few cookbooks that I had gotten on eBay/thrift stores.  I'm sure somebody else can give them some love. On the kitchen counter (see above) I got the two blue and white ceramic storage jars with cork lids, $5.00 each. One for brown rice and one whole oats, nice! Got two Asian medium sized plates, $2.00-

 

 Got two sets of 2 condiment/sauce mini trays for a couple bucks-

 

8. Skill Up- I started watching YouTube videos about what it's like living in Japan, really interesting. Here's a YouTuber I really enjoy Chani Japan  She's Australian and moved to Japan to teach English. She had been there before. She goes camping in Japan with her kitty Millie and is delightful. She bought an abandoned house, fixed it up, inspired me to try making Japanese foods. Check her out! I'm doing lots of Youtube and Pinterest for recipes.

 

9. Regenerate What is Lost/Salvage Something- We have decided to cut down our front apple tree. We will either plant a dwarf apple tree, small shade tree or perennials. Time will tell. Just too much to manage. Have been deep cleaning and re-organizing chunks of the house. Took everything out of the fridge and washed all surfaces, reorganized. Looks great! Will re-do the storage in our office/spare bedroom. Need t move some things around and re-sort home canned stuff, etc. More to come on that.

 

 

GOOD TO REMEMBER RIGHT NOW 

From Pba.umich.edu

 

AND 

 

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.