Good Bye Roosters

They have cocked their last doodle do. Saturday morning Todd harvested the two roosters. No pictures of that part because, well . . . gross.

I cut them into parts, cooked them, and diced them up.

We made chicken enchiladas for Sunday dinner yesterday. It was a little weird . . . I am not use to dark meat in my enchiladas, the meat was a little tough because the roosters are not very young, and, well, the thought kept popping into my head that these were our pet roosters.

Strong Wind

We had a very strong wind storm late Saturday night. The power went off about 9:20 pm and didn't come back on until Sunday afternoon around 3:30. Thanks to Todd's wind turbine project, we had lights in the living room and kitchen nook and electricity to the refrigerator and deep freezer. But no running water. I am glad we had water in storage to drink, feed the chickens, brush our teeth, and flush toilets!

Thomas Attracts the Ladies

The gate was open and Thomas came walking out of the garage. These 3 hens ran as fast as they could right up to him.

4 Words

Rooster in a bag.

Swim Lessons

It's that time of year again . . .


The kids favorite part was jumping off the rocks at the end. Yes, that's Niko, jumping off those rocks. He is more brave than I.

Music Room

I think Thomas is turning our Living Room into his own personal music room. I just surveyed . . . 2 pianos, 3 guitars, 2 amplifiers, 1 banjo, 1 oboe, and 1 accordion.

Happy Birthday, Justin

It fun to watch the kid's taste change as they get older. Breakfast in bed this year was a blueberry banana smoothie and a toasted bagel.Justin chose a pineapple upside down cake topped with whipped cream. Is was so nice not having to frost a double layer cake and decorate it!

Bring On the Produce

I am usually insane this time of year. There is none stop produce from the garden on the kitchen counter. I love the fresh vegetables but I also love a clean kitchen counter.

Here is one of our favorites, fresh pickles. We fill a bowl with vinegar and water. Add a little salt and a little sugar. Then fill with fresh sliced cucumbers. Within a couple of hours you have fresh, tangy, crunchy pickles. Yum!

Bench

My first woodworking project . . .

First I went to Lowe's and had someone help me load a big 4' X 8' piece of MDF onto a cart. Then I had someone cut all my pieces for me (still at Lowe's), for free.
Todd taught me how to use the saw and the drill.
All the pieces are put together.
I filled in the countersink holes and sanded them down.
Then I painted it the most beautiful shade of light blue.
All finished! It sits at the bottom of our bed. And I love it! What a rewarding project!
I got my inspiration from Ana at Knock-off wood.

Boxes

It has been said many times that when you buy a child a toy, they enjoy playing with the box more than the toy. It has definitely been proved many times at our home. Can you believe it is even true for boxes of school books?! Hee, hee.

We decided to keep the 4 younger kids home this year and do Connections Academy with them. Most of their books and supplies arrived . . .
And the kids had a great time with all of the boxes. Who needs a doll house anyway . . .
or a Barbie city . . .
or an army camp . . .

Pigeon

We had this homing pigeon land on our back deck and hung around for about 5 days. We found out who it belonged to by reading the numbers on the foot band and doing some research online. We tried to catch it so the lady from Fruitland could come pick it up. No luck. But we sure enjoyed watching it. Several times I found 4 chairs and kids lined up along the sliding glass door watching it. It finally flew away.