The First Snow!

It is an event that I look forward to every year! I feel almost like a child when I know it is coming and so completely in awe when it happens! It is the "First Snow" of the season! WOOHOO! YIPPEE!

This year, it is such a huge blessing! This snow is a big, wet snow! And after the year we have experienced with lack of moisture, it is such a good thing.

The kids had school, but they were dressed super fast and outside playing for a while until I felt it was "ok" for me to try driving them to town for school. 

We were 'teased' with a chance of snow a couple of weeks ago. I felt like my kids, all disappointed because we did not get anything. And I know by April, when spring should be well on its way and we get that (hopefully) last snow, I will complain about the snow and cold.

Until then, enjoy your fall!

Yep, It Looks Like an Outhouse!

The one thing I really wanted when I moved from the city and suburbs was chickens. I love those little, noisy birds and the beautiful eggs they produce. I was so super excited when I was able to have them running freely through my yard.

This past winter, I admit, I got a little lazy and did not button the coop up quite as tightly as I should have. I was lulled into that false sense of "security" and ignoring the fact that one by one, the free-ranging hens were being picked off every other day by some raptor. Some times ignorance is bliss...Until the morning you go out and find that the chicken-loving predator has taken liberty in your chicken coop and destroyed the entire flock.

So, I took a break from the feather friends for a while. I did pick up several guinea hens this spring to help with insect control. I will write more on those "I'm-So-Ugly-I'm-Cute" little boogers another time. However, I refrained from getting chickens.


Now, "settled" into our new home, I immediately started bugging the old cowboy to help me get a place for chickens set up. We went back and forth. Do we build a coop like we had?

 (ok, we did finish it! This was during construction)

Use the ever popular trampoline coop? This one made the Fed-Ex guy pull out his phone and snap a picture to send to his friend "Back East" for a laugh. So, yes, I'm probably in some "You might be a redneck if..." email.

Or do something different?  We opted for "different". This place had an old outhouse which had not been used in quite some time. So, we picked out a spot, moved the heavy beast of a bathroom and added a small pen area and buried the chicken wire about a foot in the ground.

So, yes, that is an outhouse turned chicken coop! And I'm loving my chickens!

A Long, Dry Summer

This summer has been hard for most folks. Even those not directly affected by the hot, dry, windy summer.

Everyone where we live seems to be on pins and needles, terrified of wild fires. I can certainly understand why. There's a feeling of complete hopelessness when you get a call or look out the window and see flames racing your way.

This is smoke from a fire that greeted us the weekend that we moved. Too close for comfort, but beautiful.

Luckily for us, we have not been in the direct line of one of these monsters. The guys have had to rush out and help neighbors as dry storms go through and light up the landscape with fires, but we have been able to stay put and pray for those in the path of this destructing force.

If there is an "upside" to this horrible time, it could be the beautiful sunrises that greet us each morning and sunsets that bid us goodnight.  Some of the most beautiful colors have blanketed the skies.

The Dreaded Birthday Cake Adventure

It's that time of the year again. A child's birthday! I LOVE baking cakes for my kids. It gives me an excuse to make sure there is extra frosting because that is MY favorite part of the whole experience!

With this child, if you know her, the world revolves around princesses. Over the years, I've made a variety of cakes with some type of princess theme - a crown, a castle, a "princess". This year, I made the executive chef's decision to go with something a little more simple and told her she was getting a cake in the shape of "Flip Flops"!

See, the problem isn't that I'm a bad cook. I love to cook. I love to make delicious meals and treats for my family. I do buy store-bought things, quite frequently by reviewing my checkbook each month, but I feel that the cake made at home is just a little more "healthy" than something I have no idea where it came from.

So, back to my birthday dilemma. I bake really tasty things. I do NOT make really "pretty" things...The "Alice in Wonderland" cake from a couple of years ago - FAIL! Tasted delicious. Looked like a pile of something. So, this year, I am determined to "master" this simple project. One year, I did not decorate anything! I let the kids do it at the party! Total win with that one!

First, I found something on Pinterest that boasts "Box Cake Will Taste Like Bakery Cake". Hhhmmm...So, I followed the link recipe-for-making-a-box-cake-taste-homemade and did what it instructed me to do. I used melted butter in place of oil and milk in place of the water.

It says to add 1-2 eggs on top of what is called for, but I decided to use what the box said to use. A few minutes of mixing and baking and "Voila'"!

I will have to say, this is the most beautiful cake that has ever come out of my oven! I cannot wait for it to cool some more in the freezer and be transformed into the most beautiful pair of flip flops ever!

After the cake was cooled, I used the template from Betty Crocker ( http://www.bettycrocker.com/recipes/flip-flops-cake/) and cut out the "Flip Flops".

Not bad, so far! Then I frosted them and used M&Ms instead of Sprees. Plus, I could not find any fruit roll-ups (maybe that was on purposed) and used frosting instead.

I know, I know. It's probably my choice of frosting that makes the decorating hard, but it is my favorite frosting and I opt for flavor over looks any day!

The birthday girl loved it! She was thrilled that I even added the flowers to the shoes.

And it was a great tasting cake. I will make these modifications to a box mix whenever I use one!

Changes....

Ch-Ch-Ch-Ch-Changes.....There's a song, right? Well, if you haven't learned already, life is packed full of changes. As much as I try to keep things the same, God turns my head and I see there is something that changed. I mean I was a full-fledged corporate career girl happily climbing that ladder and now I am a SAHM, "self-employed" and raising a family on a ranch literally in the middle of nowhere. Big change, there.

Most recently, my husband felt the call to find a new position. Nothing was really "wrong" with the current place. He just didn't feel like this was where he was supposed to be. He found a new job, thankfully, and we have moved....again....

So no pictures...I am too embarrassed to show the unpacked boxes and clutter that still grace my house, 10 days post-move...I know. I'm an overachiever...haha!

The move went pretty darn smoothly. My husband is a rock star! He is tireless and can pack a trailer like no other I've seen. I am thankful that we got the guineas penned up and packed in a dog crate for the move. The only casualty was me, when a guinea was not quite on board with the plan and flew into my face and left a huge welt. Yep, a welt. I was sure I was going to have to be rushed to the E.R., but no skin was even broken.

I am a bit heart-broken that I have left my garden behind. It was just starting to come in. I will try and get back a couple times a week to pick and see what devastation the grasshoppers and deer have inflicted since the guineas are not there for control.

I did dig up a couple of fruit trees. I hope they make it through the transplant! And on the next trip, I will dig up what is left of the dried up strawberry plants.

The first night we spent here with all critters, the one dog got out of the back yard and took off. We knew she'd come home. It just might take her a few days to remember where we live now. However, my husband, not as trusting as I am, went out "for a drive" (yeah right. I knew what he was doing!). He stopped and asked my child a question and out pops the dog from the ditch. He was one happy camper! But because the chicken-eating dog was roaming, I was afraid the guineas did not make it through the night. As he walked in the door to tell me the dog was back, he also tossed in the "Come feed your guineas. They are standing at the front door waiting for you too." Yippee!



Stay cool and enjoy the last few days of summer "vacation"!

The Skunk

One warm morning, I was running around doing some chores before I headed to my job in town. The kids were already dressed and outside playing. One was out front swinging and the younger was out back playing in her sand "box".

I was wandering around looking for the silly guineas to put out corn where they would find it. They were out by the garden. I shake the feed scoop filled with corn and they start running towards me. Past the younger child the sand box. I start counting to make sure they are all accounted for. 1-2-3-4-5 that is almost right. Let's try this again 1-2-3-4-5. Huh. It should be 4. The fifth one is black with a white stripe and a bit furry. Then it registers! SKUNK! I scream for, lunge and grab my child, holler at the dog, who is nose to nose with the skunk, and scream for the other child to get in the house.

I race for the trusty firearm, race to the other end of the house for the ammo. Race back through the house and burst through the back door. I'm so rattled that I can't keep a good aim on the smelly creature. I take a breath and pull the trigger. Nothing. Really? I actually cock the gun and then take aim again. I pepper his back end. He scurries back to his hideout....sigh...

A couple of observations. (1) My guineas are not the smartest birds on the farm...this is the second time danger has slithered right by them and they stare obliviously at it. A month ago, a 4 foot bull snake slithers by and they just stare at it. Seriously? I thought you were supposed to attack the thing? And now with the skunk, they don't start their alert squawking until after I shoot. (2) I need caffeine to make sure I am awake enough to actually kill the varmint who wander through my yard.

No pictures of the half-dead skunk, but one of his "house"

 And just because summer has arrived and my garden is loving it, a photo of my spaghetti squash! This has nothing to do with the skunk...unless it decides to climb into my garden and eat it. Then we have a problem!

Happy Summer! Stay cool and away from crazy animals!

Clean Collars

I have this problem. Well, actually, I don't have it. My husband does. He works outside and on many days he works with large animals. He comes home looking and smelling like a large animal! And let's just say, he has his own laundry basket!

For many months now he has been complaining that his shirts have not been coming clean. Sorry. The old washing machine was purchased long before I knew you even existed and I'm probably more intimate with it than you. Wait. That did not come out exactly how I planned it!  Bessie, the washing machine, is coming up on 20 years. She's reliable and for the most part does what is expected. He still complains.

So, with this complaint, I started looking for "easy" ways to get the beloved man's shirts clean. I found this on Pinterest a while ago and finally broke down and tried it the other day.

It is titled under "Remove Under Arm Stains"...Under arms. Neck. Same thing, right?

Here is the "Before" picture -

Gross! So, using 1 part Dawn Dish Soap, 2 parts Hydrogen Peroxide and a dash of Baking Soda, I poured a little on at a time and scrubbed like a crazy woman. Threw it in the wash with the rest of his stuff and let Old Bessie do her magic.

Voila'!

Not Bad! The only problem is that I have to go back and do the rest of the shirt! Rats!

Here's a shot of the ingredients. Pretty simple and I am impressed with the results.

 Happy Scrubbing!