Frustratedearthmother's Journaling Journey

[frustratedearthmother]

Dawn, it was in the mid 70's that we lived in the 50's RV....guess that means I'm giving away my age, huh? LOL

I'm with you on not really caring for canned greens too much.

Yesterday was our first day of no grocery buying and it went ok...it was nice to drive right past the store on my way home from work.

First day of the improved eating plan went well too. We had leftovers last night - Yummy pork roast, squash casserole and some fresh collard greens sauteed in a little bacon fat and simmered in chicken broth for just a few minutes.

I've gotta stay off of Craigslist. I wonder if there's a 12-step program for that! They have a couple of Dexter/Dexter Crosses on there that I need to just say "NO" to. There is a package deal on a registered 6yo cow, her 5 month Dexter/Mini-herford cross heifer, and a 2 year old unregistered bull for $1500! Also, a bull/cow package for $900. DH would have a cow if I brought them home

Truth be known - he doesn't ever really care what I 'acquire', and he's evem shown some interest in having mini-cows - but he thinks we're at the point of needing to get rid of a mouth before we bring in a new one - and he's right! Plus, these have horns - and I don't like horns...

 

[frustratedearthmother]

Day two of no shopping. DH said tonight that "this is really easy." I told him to wait until day 29 before he decides, lol. We had spinach salad for dinner cuz we're trying to use up the perishables first.

Walked two miles again today - my co-worker and I (who is 18 years my junior) walked those two miles in 28 minutes and I've gotta say that was HARD on my body. My shins are sore - but not as sore as they were last night. I laughed at myself last night when I took the dogs out for their last potty break before bed. I had to just crawl into the hot tub and STAND there while the dogs were doing their business. It helped, lol!

Piggies are getting bigger. I'm still on the first bag of pig feed and am supplementing it with lots of fermented grain, boiled eggs and some whey and/or milk and/or kefir. They're doing really good things in the garden area. I love that they're rooting up the common bermuda by the bushel load. I pick it up and throw it into the chicken pens and they finish it off for me.

Not really looking forward to all the work I need to tackle this weekend. I need to re-dig some post holes and try to put my privacy fence back up - at least until I can get somebody out here to build a gate for me. But until that happens, there's a 24 foot gap in my fence. Not so much fun. My female Westie is in heat and with the fence down the neighbors dog comes to visit at every opportunity... Grrrrr! DH is going on a motorcycle ride and will be gone for the weekend. I'm kinda bummed that he didn't even ask me if I wanted to go... Of course, he's accustomed to me turning him down, so I'm not surprised that he hasn't thought to ask. I wouldn't ride with him, but it might be fun to drive the car and hit some of the events that he's going to. Sigh.... Oh well, I've got a lot to do here.

I'm tired tonight. It rained on and off this afternoon and I didn't get through outside until much later than usual. I still need to feed the little dogs and then head to the bed.

 

[Denim Deb]

Don't blame you for feeling bummed. And, I couldn't walk 2 miles in 28 minutes. Used to be able to walk a mile in under 15 minutes when I was much younger, now I'm lucky if I can walk the 2!

 

[frustratedearthmother]

Ahhhh, thanks Deb.

No shopping day 3 and I haven't even thought about dinner - don't even care. Two adults live in this house, there's plenty of food so it's 'every man/woman for himself' night. We do that occasionally and it works out well for us. I had a snack at work around 3 and I'm not really hungry - it's a miracle!!!

Did my two miles again at lunch today and my body hates me right now. I got out of work an hour early so I've done everything except milk and I'll be doing that in a few. I had a little extra time after feeding so I tackled the front garden. Pulled up old tomato cages, and weeds, and cleaned out around the asparagus real good. By golly I'm gonna harvest asparagus next spring - it'll be the third year and it's about time! I think by this weekend I'll have the rest of that area ready to plant. This garden area is small, but I've been building the soil in there for over 20 years and it's so awesome. It even smells good, lol.

I need to sell some more goats, but I hate doing it. I just hate the process of dealing with all the inquiries, and folks who promise to come out and never show up, sending picture after picture...grrrr... Of course, if I'm the one buying something I expect other folks to do that for me - so I guess it's fair. I'm just in the 'thinking about it stage' right now, don't want people coming around this weekend when the hubster is out of town.

Okay, back outside to milk and then early shower and maybe a big ol' bowl of popcorn to watch the debate.

 

[frustratedearthmother]

The Hubster is off on his motorcycle weekend which means he'll have a blast and I'll worry all weekend. Last time he headed out in this direction was about 8 years ago, and he went down on one of those famous motorcycle roads. He landed on a boulder, broke three ribs and had to get back on his bike and ride 50 miles to the ER. BMW bikes are tough! He was pretty tough too while he was in front of all his biker buddies, lol. (However - on the ride home he whined and cried like a little girl!) He called me from the hospital a couple hours after his wreck. They'd done x-rays and sent him away with a script for pain pills which he wouldn't take until I got there. He's a firm believer in being clear-headed on two wheels and he had to ride the bike back from the hospital to his room.

Anyway, long story short - I had to go get him. Had to hook up the trailer, find the straps and drive about 5 hours in the dark to gather him up. I got there about midnight and there was a cluster of guys out in the parking lot of the hotel - drinking and swapping lies, lol. (hubster doesn't drink) Some of the guys loaded up the bike and after a bit we were on our way back home. He finally took his pain meds when he got in the car. It was a long, long drive home.... Almost 12 hours for me round trip and we didn't get home until daylight the next day. He was drugged up, and I was struggling to stay awake. That's why I worry so much when he does this.

He went on another big ride a few years ago - all the way to Mt. Rushmore - from Houston - and had no problems at all. He was gone for 11 days that time...so what did I do? I rented a beach house while he was gone. Me and the dog had a very relaxing couple of days No beach house this weekend for me - I've got too much to do!

I'm determined to get the little front garden ready to plant so that's a priority this weekend. Also, I'm thinking about running the tiller through a couple of empty pens and broadcasting some seeds in there. Might make a good mid-winter grazing treat for pigs and chickens. I'll have to check out the seed supply and see what I've got. Any suggestions?

I took today off to get a jump start on all my weekend projects. I can't work in the garden til the dew dries so I'll start in the milk room. It's a mess. At some point this weekend, I need to make cheese and maybe some more cajeta. The cajeta will go great in goodie baskets that I'll give for Christmas gifts. I need to get another batch of greens in the dehyrator. I did cabbage yesterday and vacuum sealed it. Should be great tossed in soup.

I'm not getting anything done sitting here so I better get outside and get started.

 

[frustratedearthmother]

Not a bad days work!

I started this morning moving dirt into some holes in the yard that my son's dog was responsible for. Now, these holes are at least a year old, and my son promised that he'd fill 'em in....sigh... I'm tired of tripping in 'em! So - done!

Next - milk room. I took the milk stand outside and scrubbed it. Dried milk with hay stuck in it - gone! Let it dry outside in the sun. Swept the floor and emptied the trash. Done!

Needed feed - so off to town to get lay pellets, goat feed, and piglet food. Done!

Next - came home, had some lunch, emptied the dishwasher, loaded the dishwasher, cleaned the rugs and swept the floor. Kitchen done! (until tomorrow when it'll need to be done all over again)

Back outside to continue work on the front garden area. Got the tomato cages all put away. Tossed another big bunch of weeds over the fence to the goats. Need to trim up some of the black berries. Some have volunteered in the middle of the garden area. I should dig them up and transplant them to a more 'user friendly' spot.

I have a big depression in the front barnyard that I occasionally fill up with water for the geese. It's about 6 ft across but only about 18 inches deep in the middle. Geese love it - but today I discovered that the piglets love it more! I let them out of the pen into the area with the tiny pond and they entertained me for at least an hour. They chased the geese out of the wet spot and took turns rolling around in it and trying to drown each other. I laughed so hard that I'm sure my neighbors thought I'd lost my mind....

Fed, gathered eggs, milked and came inside. Nice glass of vino and I'm contemplating a little dip in the hot tub.

Life is good....

 

[SSDreamin]

Aren't days like that great? I love days when things get accomplished AND I get quality time hanging out watching the animals

 

[frustratedearthmother]

Absolutely! That's why I do this - probably why a lot of us do this! I don't need the mall, or shopping, or bars, or any of that for entertainment. I've got it all right here!

 

[Dawn419]

^^^Amen to that, sister!

Nice glass of vino and I'm contemplating a little dip in the hot tub.

It was so wet, cold and windy last night that I considered grabbing a bottle of our homemade pear wine and coming over to visit you! Be glad I decided it was probably too far to walk!

 

[frustratedearthmother]

Pear wine sounds absolutely yummy! Come on down!