Monday, August 5, 2013

Good Morning Monday!

Mondays are tough...  then when you get up at 5:15 on Monday morning it is even tougher...  UGH!

Oh well...  I needed to get up because the 2 little girls I watch most days of the week were going to be here early.   So I got up, got the quiche in the oven (it was premade, just needed to cook), only spilt a little and smoked up the house all before 5:30. 

This weekend we had finally got caught up in the garden where we could work on something else!  I suggested we work on Greg's barn and get his workshop up and running, but to my surprise he wanted to deep clean the house. 

So Saturday am, we woke up and started on the porch and mud/laundry room...  And Sunday morning we finally moved on to the kitchen!  YIKES!  I am not a deep cleaner I guess... The ceiling needed cleaned, the walls, EVERYTHING!  We got the pantry moved so I can finally get into it (just turned it 45 degrees oh what a difference!)

So this week and next we are hoping to get through the entire house.  Jacob needs to move to his new room and everyone needs to switch beds, all before school starts (about a month way!) and the new baby comes.

As for life on the farm...  Our 2 chicks that the Muscovy mama hatched are doing well in the brooder box and our mama from earlier this year is sitting on 9 more eggs!  She is doing so much better than the first round, no broken eggs so far and all seem to be doing well.  It is amazing how they develop into better mamas.

The piggies got a new pasture, although they are having a hard time crossing the old fence line.  But enjoy the bigger room and less thistles.  They are loving the windfall apples we picked up last week, as are the cows.

I have discovered trading/bartering!  AND LOVE IT!  Last week we got some apples for some produce, eggs and pickled beets!  We picked for a neighbor who donated sausage in the mix, and we all came home with a bunch of transparent apples which will be canned up into apple butter and applesauce today!
 
We have traded our cherries for raw Jersey milk, and look forward to trading much more in the future!  It is such a great way to work with our fellow farmers and exchange goodies without exchanging $, which has to go to other places most the time...
 
I wonder if the mortgage company will take farm fresh eggs for payment? 
 
Then there is this whole test tube meat?  WHAT IN THE WORLD?!?!?  How can this be better than home grown beef?  "Frankenburger"  Come on!  We aren't huge in the following of GMO/Organic/ processed food, but have become more aware of it all since we started growing and raising our own food.  This just seems wrong on all levels. 
 
Oh what to do... I guess we just keep on raising and growing our food and learning more about all the different things out there.