Just another Day on the Farm

Birthday Weekend Away

Posted on October 25, 2021 by Just another day on the farm

Just some of the fun on the birthday weekend away at a dear friends place.. its been just wonderful..

My main birthday presents was two new backdrops and two new light boxes for taking indoor photos and I have been having a great deal of fun with it..

Lots of time on the Quad and bush time.. pretty view indeed, all taken out by Bon Echo Area

Can you spot the beaver.. its very tricky but I swear to you there is one in there LOL

Ps, it was raining at the time so the rain is what is making the water dance..

Amazing sunrises and sunsets..

Love my birthday flowers.. so pretty..

Hope you had a good weekend as well..

Posted in At the kitchen table | Tagged Birthday Flowers, Bon Echo, Catahoula, Cats, Farm dogs, happy birthday, pet photography | 6 Comments

Homegrown Peanuts -Zone 5

Posted on October 18, 2021 by Just another day on the farm

Late last winter or very early spring depending on how you look at it, Dear Hubby said I would like to grow peanuts again this year.. we have grown them before with moderate success.. its very tricky to give them enough heat and long enough days to full finish the peanut..

So I ordered the seed peanuts from OSC (Ontario Seed Company) these peanuts have been bred for canada, well at least the southern zones.. they need 120 days min and more is better.. and they are space hogs.. they really are, with each peanut plant needing 36 inches each, fat and full and because of how they grow you need to stay on top of weeds and keep a bare soil under the plants themselves, you can mulch on the sides but not under the plants themselves.

Now if you have grown peanuts this is old hat to you but if you have not, its a funky plant.. it grows bushy with leaves that will remind you a bit of clover or at least it does to me and its flowers are lovely yellow, its a pretty plant in the garden, you could get away in the right places using it as a “edge” plant and no one would be any the wiser that you are growing peanuts.. they would just see a three footish high green row with pretty yellow flowers..

Once the flowers bloom, the stamen which is dark purplish color will head out and down.. down, down.. into the ground.. that’s right.. the peanuts are not going to grow on the roots of the plant but are in fact growing to grown on ends of what was once the above grown flower.. how freakin cool is that!.. now the first big push on the early flowers and the best producers are going to the flowers that went in clusters at the base of the plant,

I find these the most productive and the ones most likely to finish.. the secondary blooming which is lovely to look at, will produce more single peanuts if they reach full size on the lines outward.. the more mature peanuts will have lines on them when they come out of the ground..

Ideally leave them till frost nips them.. we did not do that this year because I needed to make the choice between pulling the plants still green with hints of yellow coming at the end of a extra warm spell just before extreme rain coming and risking rot.. Given the amount of rain we have had, I will take the loss we might have gotten if I had been able to wait for frost, (which is to be coming today)

Once they are pulled out, they must be hung to start curing.. they filled the whole of my living room on laundry cloths dryers.. with a fan on 24 hours and a small heater for just a bit of warmth without to much.. Once they are dry enough, shake off the extra dirt and keep letting them dry down.. on average it takes about 2 weeks but weather does play a factor..

Then take them off and decide your choice, wash, salt boil and then roast them, or dry them, brush the dirt off, then dry oven roast them.. I brushed them, did a slow low dry for 24 at herb setting on the dryer, pulled any thing that did not pass the test after that finally drying out.. which was about 5%, and then into the oven for 45 min they went.. I started take one out and cracking it and testing it for being ready at 40 min and this batch was perfect at 50 min..

I love that we have one more choice to grow “fat” on the farm but in the garden.. Its one of the few perks of the changing weather patterns here on the farm, more heat units, longer falls.. I have to admit that I have given though to growing peanuts and sweet potato’s as the main summer crops in the geodome, the extra days, the extra heat and the warmer soil will just make those crops thrive..

After all I can grow greens, salad fixes and more in the main and food forest gardens very well all spring, summer and fall..

Do you grow peanuts? If so do you grow just a few as a treat feed or do you grow a couple big good rows for your own peanut butter? Do you like salt boiled peanuts? Dry Roast? I love the skins on the fresh peanuts, fresh peanuts are just more.. yum.. double yum!

Posted in 100 mile diet, food, gardens | Tagged Dry roasted Peanuts, grow your own nuts, Growing Peanuts, Harvesting Peanuts, Home grown Peanuts, Peanuts zone 5 | 10 Comments

Gas Price and Rising Costs

Posted on October 17, 2021 by Just another day on the farm

cherrypiecar

The little Swift gets amazing gas mileage for which I am grateful but even so the costs to fill it are rising up and its fall which means that its time do a full rotation on the winter storage gas in case of power loss due to winter storms, high winds and ice storms.. The longest we have been without power is 5 days but the farm was without power for 3 weeks during the ice storm. we are on a very small grid, less then 300 on our loop.. and while I will give credit that most of the time they get the power back within 48 hours.. anytime there is something that hits bigger/wider.. our little grid is most certainly not considered among the “lets get that one done now list”

A “facebook” friendish in a local group was taking about price of gas as the group was talking about that it could reach 2 dollars a liter or for my USA Friends that would be 4.5 liters per gallon so that would be 9 dollars a gallon.. currently locally I am paying 1.50 a liter or 6.50 a gallon. What is gas prices at your local area currently?

Gas mileage certainly was a factor when we were looking for our coming vehicle and we had indepth talks about eletric vs hybrid vs gas.. its far more tricky then you would think.. Maybe you live in a place that has good power rates but we do not.. given the massive lack of charging stations, the only thing we could consider is hybrid.. and we did look at it but then we also looked at our planned trips, places we were hoping to go (all in canada) its a massive country and so much we have yet to see but its not developed yet for hybrid or battery.. its fine for the small city driving, its fine for the main highway if you are careful and plan well.. but once you get off the main highway. No, Nope..

Now trust me, while we are dreaming of packing up, loading the dogs and with planning for the farm and gardens/harvests and more, we are also aware that the world is in flux and that it might or might not come to pass..

Gas prices have a massive influence on many things, far more then meets the eye.. it effects layer after layer after layer.. and each layer adds just a bit more pressure and a bit more cost to goods. Goods that are already costing more for a number of reasons.. and will continue to rise at least for the next while..

I am watching as peaple that have for the past 19 months said again and again.. just a bit more and we will be back to normal.. o peaple.. back to normal.. i guess that for some its possable. However for most.. that before is gone..

Rising interest rates, Inflation, recession (lets hope) Depression, the unevenness of the global view means that we are in for a lot of coming hurt.. Even for those of us that have “step out sideways” on the system, who have made the choice to live on a different beat.. we have been harshly reminded that we still use the system.. Reminded by needing health care, reminded that we still use “go to the store and get X or Y”

I was a 80’s child in alberta and let me tell you with a pipelining father, it was a very rough time.. to say that we were poor at times is a soft way to say it.. and I will leave that there.. but even as young as I was I remember a number of stark things that happened.. I remember sitting and listening to the adults talk and I can honestly say that listening to peaple talk on the groups of current issues, I am seeing history repeat itself.. the same questions, the same worries, the same fears..

It was a long slow 10 year crawl up into the 90’s and for some they never recovered, for others they hit the sweet spots and thrived.. I expect that will be the case again.. I am honestly not going to worry about the 10 year plan, its there.. I think like so many, I will just in the here and now.. with a side eye on the winter and 2022..

I think a few of my closest friend are going to be giving me a rant or two over a coffee while they snarl at me.. you see we all had sit downs and real hard talks 10 weeks or so before the lock down, I took the time to book/drive/lay out what I felt was coming and how could we help each other, how can we prepare etc.. and I made it clear at that time that I felt that 2022 was going to be “Big BAD B$&#h” year that we need to get ready for.. I really had hoped I was going to be wrong.. I wanted to be wrong.. I wanted them to come back to me and say.. ha.. WRONG..

Sadly I do not think that they are going to get to tell me I was wrong.. I think point in fact that we will be sighing deeply and having heart to heart talks on the hardships, on the pressure being felt, on the modifications being made..

We will also see hope, We will listen to music, we will make music, we will sing, we will dance, we will dig fingers into wool, into soil, we will gather, we will see the things that went and are going right, we will see the light in peaple we care about, we will smile and laugh at the children enjoying simple pleasures, we will snuggle our cats, our dogs.. we will make and eat good food, we will hold some things in higher regards, We will share what we have and help each other in so many different ways..

In short despite it all there will be flowers in 2022.. do you know how I know this.. because we will plant them, tend them and stop and enjoy them.. There will be time made to stop and smell the roses..

Posted in Life moves on daily | 9 Comments

Fall and Garden Burn out..

Posted on October 14, 2021 by Just another day on the farm

remmifallforest

It happens to all of us.. at some point there is a garden burnout.. Where you look at the last of the things coming in and sigh, groan and go NO MORE! Of course there is more.. so much more.. there are things drying down and curing across your whole living room hanging on the dryer racks (peanuts) you have not seen your dining room table since spring, first it was place to start seeds, then it was seedlings and then it was harvests.. so many harvests and cooling jars and more.. honestly I have not used my dining room table for anything not garden/food related for over 6 months now..

And what a garden year! I mean its a three crop year.. and it flowed.. so much food!.. food that has been eaten, food that has been processed, food that was gifted to the community.. The bounty of the plants this year, or perhaps that was the bounty that my wonderful bees and food forest gifted.. wow!

On a normal (haha what’s normal) year we would have had our first hard frost by now and I would be yes.. we are still picking ripe tomato’s from the garden.. FROM the GARDEN.. it was 29c yesterday and it is normally 12c.. Today 22c for the love of.. I turned on the AC for a couple hours to cool the bedroom because the bedroom was to hot for me to sleep and the outside air temps were not dropping fast enough and I am at that starting the pre-hot flash age..

Every dresser in the bedrooms is covered in sqaushs and we still have so many things in the gardens, that last batch of tomato’s peppers to pick, for the love of hubby brought in baby summer squash, but there are beets, turnips, cabbage, celery and so on out there yet..

Bellspumpkinpaw

At this point the urge to start turning more into fodder becomes huge.. I mean it not wasted its cuts the feeding costs on the livestock and that is a very good thing with the cost of feed right now..

I need to turn my eyes towards fall butchering, the duck flock is the big one that needs to be butchered out and into the freezer and jars it goes.. plus dog food and blood meal for the compost and gardens..

The colors are telling me, good job.. and time to slow down.. sometimes we need to take those moments and really enjoy them.. like bush time.. (yes the boys are wearing hunters orange for safety, so were we) what a mushroom picking season its been, between the rains and these warm temps the local woods, fields and so on are putting on multiple flushes of fruiting bodies.

But I know that there is still a long road ahead before true winter arrives and there is work to be done! Tell me I am not the only one LOL.. What do you have left in your gardens? Are you done garden canning this year? Are you looking at the changing leaves and getting out the hunter orange? Got Tags?

Posted in Food in jars, Food Storage, Forage, Garden harvest, photography | Tagged Fall garden harvest, Fall harvest, fall hikes, farm cats, Hunter orange for your dogs, photography, Pumpkin kitten photo | 4 Comments

Maverick Truck

Posted on October 13, 2021 by Just another day on the farm

maverick

We have been Vehicle Shopping.. and its been utterly brutal.. I mean I know that there are peaple that like to car shop.. we are not those peaple.. Vehicles are for us are workhorses that get the job done.. we are not need a new one every four years.. In the 23 years we have been together, we have never made a vehicle payment.. we have always bought outright and we do regular care etc but we drive our vehicles till they are done!

So when a couple years ago, we started really giving the “saving funds some extra bumps” and we started reading/research and really having long talks about what we wanted in our 50’s vehicle.. we built and rebuilt our list and saved..

Our awesome 1999 car is on its last tire, no point in fact its the transmission that is going and there has been a few whoa’s on getting stuck in different gears and our 2007 little cherry swift is awesome, and still going strong moterwise (other then it sounds like a teens race car) but its body is truly and fully rusting out.. lets put it this way.. its legal but if it got taken off the road and had to pass a test to be on the road.. haha.. rolls eyes.. still as my guy says, moter sound, breaks sound, drive it till it drops..

Due to health reasons over the past couple years for both of us, we have been reminded that while we LOVE our farm, we miss our very adventure filled 20/30’s.. we have sunk roots down and deep into the land we live on.. but we both really miss spreading our wings and hitting the road..

Road Trips feature in a BIG way in our 50’s plan (we both turn 50 in 2022) and we would like the next 10 years to be filled with amazing places and memories made.. so this has a huge effect on the vehicle shopping..

So after research, I had a list I wanted to test drive, hubby had a list for us to test drive and we booked times and went though all the fuss and we figured out very quickly, we were hooped..

a) I am heavy, big and it turns out that at least 1/3rd of the ones on our list had really snug fitted bucket seats.. well.. let me tell you, that rise, its my nerves just right to have my back where I damaged it 3 years ago and I was in gasping/tears within 5 to 10 min and crippled up for a couple days after.. wow!

b) then comes my bad knee, now its my driving knee and I have a way that I tip it to the right to take pressure off it, there are few ways I move it around in Cherry (and remember part of the reason we got Cherry was because CD car didn’t work for my injuries) and so I can do longer trips in her.. I have no idea why but 70 plus percent of the new SUV’s all have these MASSIVE huge solid high consoles between drivers and shotgun rider.. its insane.. it takes up all that extra sideways leg room on both seats..

I would find one that fits me but no knee room, no leg room.. CRAZY.. WHY>> BAD CAR COMPANIES! and so of course they would say, we can go up in size to the full size truck.. and of course its a smooth ride, its massive, its also a tank.. and a gas hog.. I mean if you need one, great.. but we do not need one.. and its about 40 grand higher then our top end budget..

I kept finding different company.. and we would test drive, and test drive.. and finally we had it narrowed down to the dodge van.. nothing wrong with a dodge caravan.. its ok.. it really is.. and I have no issue with looking like a soccer mom etc.. but I did honestly want more clearance, and it meant that we still needed to look for a older farm truck for hauling and so. Ideally we like to be a one vehicle family.. it is so cost saving to only run one and with hubby working from home..

Full credit, it was hubby that months ago said.. there is something coming on the market that might just be the trick.. the ford Maverick.. and I looked at it and went.. ok.. We put our name down for notice for a test drive and waited.. and waited an waited..

Finally we got the call, two had come in and we need to come now as they had sold but the one person said we could test drive.. thank you kind stranger.. My first thought was smaller then I expected as I stood and looked at it but i knew it was smaller then the ranger, I thought you are cute,, but how do you fit a sheet of plywood in your tiny 4.5 box and its going to cramped inside..

Boy was I wrong! It was the most perfect fit.. the seat has very gentle bucket rising edges but but its got a wait for it.. 8 way adjust on it and by the time I finished adjusting back, down and so on.. it fit like a dream, the seatbelt also fit like it was meant for me.. the design on the door is so you can fit big 1 liter water bottles which is fine, but what it means is it gives a lean for my left leg if I want and more open space to give my left leg on drivers and more space when riding in it.. the big thank you is that it has a low riding much more narrow middle bridge and it has this adorable but going to take some use to gear shift but all that space normally taken by the gear shifter.. open air and room for my bad knee!

I am not sure I will fit in the back three seater, but my hubby can on the RARE event we need to seat three and its big enough for my dogs , which will be the more regular, its got underfloor storage which I love because it means extra dog proof storage..

They designed the back tail gate to have a spot to lock it in and you can load 18 standard 4 by 8 sheets of plywood or sheet rock, and here is the thing.. this little truck is pretty bare bones and I love it for it.. its got great amount of tie downs, adjust this and that for different uses..

Of course you can bling it up to a point, go ahead peaple, drop that extra 10 or 15 grand and make it have so many of the “new standard” features .. or drop it really down to the bare bones and go..

For me, its a middle of the road.. I want the extras for the cab (remember long trips) including the heated seats and so on.. I am drooling at the idea of coming back from a good hike and driving with heated seats to where we are spending the night and having it help not have me stiffen up so much..

I also want the towing package, both for the towing but also for the improvements on a few things that would be good for the overall wear and tear on longer trips and for up and down the big old hills..

Now its a full 10 inches shorter then the F 150… but its still got 17 inch tires and good regular clearance, you might not want to mud bog with it, but it will certainly hold its own for our personal needs.. we are going AWD and because of the towing package, it means we have the ability to drop it into low if needed..

I love that it means I am not reaching up to get in.. that extra 10 inches means a HUGE difference on what I have to push up and come down on my bad knee.. having said that.. the way the truck is designed, you feel like you are driving either a very high SUV or a truck..

I also have to give a shout out to the amazing views.. so many of the vehicles we test drove had REALLY bad blind spots.. they made up for these massive glaring blind spots with all kinds of sensors.. don’t worry that you can’t see there the car will beep and adjust itself.. Let me tell ya.. I do not like test driving a car that auto corrects me or worse yet.. self brakes.. WTF.. both husband and I were totally impressed at how well it was designed to NOT have bad blind spots..

That was the thing I hated the most about the van, I turned it to sharply on a wide open space in the country and three times! it auto breaked me due ditch,, i had lots of room, I even got out and checked.. I can see why the towing packages come with a switch to turn that off when towing.. the van did not have the off.. Trust me, you want to turn it off!

We both looked at each other and went.. well there it is.. meets all the farm needs, the travel needs, the possable commute needs and so on..

the only downside.. trying to get one, and worry about parts being made in this Pandemic.. at least there is crossover history on frame an other sections that have good reviews and I have joined a forum where there are some really hard core gents that have them in their hot hands and are running real time checks on all kinds of things and reporting their findings.. so far so good..

I guess that the other downside is that there are no deals to be had.. No.. here take this off, no down payment and so on.. three years ago, if you paid all cash, you got a cash price.. its a 500 difference at the moment.. and it used to be that if you paid cash that the dealerships liked it.. not any more.. they almost beg you to finance as they get a kickback from the bank.. or so at least 5 salesmans told me from different dealerships

So we are going to put down our deposit and hopefully by new years? we will have our new truck.. Keep you posted on how it goes.. I have never ever custom ordered before.. its different.. I am just grateful that after all that looking, sitting, test driving we FINALLY found something that is in our planned price range(its top end of it) that works for our needs and for me health wise!

Posted in At the kitchen table, Life moves on daily | 7 Comments

October Unprocessed Week 1.5 Update

Posted on October 11, 2021 by Just another day on the farm

As the first week of Oct was a very short week being only 4 days, I am combining week one and week 2 together for this update.

The weather has been very warm with lots of mixed in rain.. This is only the 3rd year on the farm in 17 years here that we have not had our first hard killing frost by Thanksgiving Weekend., certain spots on the farm and gardens have had two or three light frosts for the super tenders but no killing frost at all..

The Big Garden Teepee is just rocking along, with bowls of cherry tomato’s still being picked every two days plus beans and so on.. I will be honest, I am surprised that the 4 cherry tomato’s we planted have reached ten feet high and each one covers the full 4 feet side with each being at least 4 feet wide.. They really liked this growing set up..

sunchokesinbloomfingerlings

We have been enjoying a mix of food from our gardens and our Full Bellies Food Box.. The Sunchokes are in full bloom, and will be one of our last and longest harvests in the gardens but the gardens are still pretty full, its not that we have not been harvesting, we have been.. Point in fact 96% of all my jars are full at this point, its a good thing we are also eating out them and so the cycle continues.. fill empty, fill empty..

Its been quite easy to make our meals meet the rules, a little thinking and a little planning.. the biggest challenge has been the few times we have been out for medical appointments and its moved over into meal times.. and planning thanksgiving as I do love my stuffing and point in fact.. I adore stove top stuffing.. I know I know.. I can make a mean homemade stuffing, I know how to make a crazy good cornbread stuffing, a apple/sausage stuffing that is lip smacking good.. my mothers, cooked heart/gizzard, onion, herbs and so much butter thick/rich very sage based one.. half goes in the bird and half goes in the pan to bake in the oven to be mixed together for the table..

I will make a tiny little stuffing this year as I will be the only one eating it, or maybe I will change my mind and make a full stuffing and just put stuffing on the dogs dinner bowls and we will all enjoy it lol.. either way I can’t imagine not having cold stuffing to go with my cold turkey tomorrow.. I have a few hours yet to make that final choice..

Onward we go..

Posted in 30 day challanges, At the kitchen table | Tagged Eating with a plan, Garden, meal planning, October Unprocessed, October Unprocessed 2021, Vertical Garden | 7 Comments

Happy Thanksgiving!

Posted on October 10, 2021 by Just another day on the farm

Happy Thanksgiving to all my wonderful readership. I wish you the very best.. and here are few lovely photos of my hounds and purrpots to go Ahhh over.. Hug your loved ones!

sticksplooshdouble

Posted in Life moves on daily | 2 Comments

Baked Beef Shank Steaks

Posted on October 9, 2021 by Just another day on the farm

bakedshanksteaks

This garlic loving somewhat made in the pot BBQ sauce works so perfectly with these baked till pull apart tender Shank Steaks. There is enough sauce made for four steaks with the fixings for sure if you wanted to pull it, mix it together and use on pasta or rice.. or you could use as a full side like we did, in which case it goes amazing with a huge side salad.. It would be outstanding with my loaded cabbage salad and a bit of of mashed to round out the plate..

Given the price of beef these days, its possable that some of the different cuts might be had for a much better price point.. Shank Steaks could be in that better price point.. this recipe works well in regards to taking one or two steaks, cooking it in a way that you could easily then shed the meat into the sauce and use it over pasta/rice or mashed.. all of which will give a good filling meal that does not seem like you are stretching the meat, just that it should be served that way..

Perhaps you bought a quarter or half a beef and have moved the Shanks package around.. not really sure how to use them? The recipe below could be done in a slow cooker or even on very low on the stove top if needed.. or in the right pan a toaster oven.. its very flexable in that way..

While these are beef and they should have been aged at hanging time, I was taking no risks with these steaks, and I aged them two days in a brine in the fridge.. the brine was as simple as it gets a bit of oil, a bit of apple cider vinegar, and some soy sauce with some cracked course salt and cracked pepper.. flip twice a day.

2 Extra Large Beef Shank Steaks Bone in (aged)
1 purple head of chinese cabbage, finely sliced (it melts down much more then regular cabbage for texture
1 large or 2 medium yellow onions (peeled and slivered)
8 med to large cloves of garlic, peeled, smashed and coursely diced
6 cups of beef broth
1 can of tomato paste concentrate
1 tsp of instant coffee (your choice but it does give a extra something to the dish)
Salt, Pepper 1/2 tsp, 1/2 tsp of ginger, 1/2 tsp of all spice and 1 tsp of montreal steak spice.

In a oven proof pot with a lid, place the cabbage, onion and garlic down first, then place the steaks on and just wiggle them in a tiny bit.. Mix the spices, the instant coffee and the tomato paste in with beef broth, blend with a whisk till its smooth and well combined.. pour it over the steaks and veggies..

Bake 3 and half to 4 hours at a slow 300 degree oven till the meat is fall apart tender..

Posted in Food Storage, frugal, grass fed beef | Tagged Baked Beef Shank Steaks, Cheap and Frugal Meals, Garlic, Shank Steaks Recipe, use different cuts of meat to help cut costs, Ways to stretch your meat | 3 Comments

Winter Tires and Stuff

Posted on October 8, 2021 by Just another day on the farm

All over the farm and the fields around me, the geese have been flying..

Honk, Honk, Honk

If we needed more signs that fall is here.. these lines of every changing moving, shifting V flocks of honkers would certainly be it..

They are still moving with ease.. Butterflies have left and are on their flight to warmer winter pastures..

Do you want to know what is not moving freely, STUFF.. stuff is not moving.. the great global supply chain.. the just in time delivery.. Its showing more and more strain.. a shipping load that metal box used to cost $5000 to rent, now it costs #30,000.. I want you to really think about it.. some really high end items have enough profit margin.. but there is a HUGE host of things, smaller things that we are so used to having on the shelves that do not have the profit margrin to make this possable..

I know, I know.. but Farmgal.. have you seen the prices.. everything is up, up UP.. yup.. the cost of everything is higher.. so they are passing on the extra cost of doing business.. I am not sure you read my blog if you believe that lol

I expect that most that read my blog understand that due to global factors (a host of them) that this is not a blip.. that while certain parts of canada are doing well enough with the health issues, while others are struggling that point in fact, we are going to find ourselves having a broad sweeping brush of inflation.

While we have rising costs across the board, (including lumber) what we do not have is rising incomes.. but we are about to see debt.. o yes.. those rising house prices which many bought into, taking out a healthy portion of the bank of mom/dad in terms of their extra (if you were lucky enough to have parents that could help you) means that a huge percentage of those that just got into the market are going to be house poor straight off and second, they are about to get their ass’s bitten with their variable rates..

Ah, the flip side is that those that were in their house’s, working from home, stable incomes and so on.. they suddenly found themselves with a extra 100,000 to 300,000 grand worth of house.. and I will bet a nickel that a swack of them took out huge lines of credit for “improvements” and yes I am sure some did put in pools, redo the kitchen and dropped 50 grand on landscaping..

Thing is.. lines of credit are still credit.. and they are interest rate connected as well.. I have so many friends that I like.. yes.. the house made X amount of money and so I took out and got X or Z or Y.. but here is the thing.. as long as it was “credit line” its not real money.. its credit.. its a loan.. its debt!

This big old house of cards has been being held up with bandaids, the feds have been pushing money out the door by the shovel ready programs.. it can’t keep it up.. Billions spent.. Billions more put out in.. you guessed it.. loans.. so many small, med an big business’s that have been held up by the programs.. once that bill comes due.. many will fail.. and so will all those let go..

If you have CASH on hand, then get ready for winter early this year.. I am not talking about buying bathroom paper products.. or the extra bag of beans etc.. they will make sure that the basic’s are in the stores and you should have extra on hand already by now..

I am talking about the extra’s you need for winter for your home, for your vehicles, for your farm, barns and so on.. pick up the feed now if you can because the price is only going to get worse, do not put off getting new winter tires if you need them, I do not know your home.. you do.. you most likely have a list.. make it, check it twice.. then check your house hold repair boxes and compare them..

and Remember the Golden Rule.. Two is one and one is none..

Enjoy these at least locally wonderful warm days of fall.. but remember.. winter is coming..

Posted in At the kitchen table, Life moves on daily | Tagged Frugal | Leave a comment

Lamb Quinoa Meatballs Baked with Sauerkraut

Posted on October 7, 2021 by Just another day on the farm

Lamb Meatballs baked with krout is very good.. o yes.. very good indeed.. So lets to the recipe shall we..

Recipe

1 pound of ground lamb
2 cloves of finely chopped garlic
1/2 very finely chopped yellow onion
1/2 a cup of Quinoa (red)
1/2 tsp of salt, pepper, 1 tsp of Steak Spice
1 qaurt of wine sauerkraut or 3 to 4 cups if you are making it yourself in a crock.
3/4 cup of broth (lamb or beef or veggie, your choice)

Mix the meat, onion, garlic, spices and quinoa in the burger very well, then make 6 to 8 even sized meat balls put a layer of sauerkraut down, then the meat balls with the rest tucked between them, leaving just the tops showing, add the broth and bake for 25 min covered in a 350 degree oven.. uncover for the last 5 min if you want more browning on the meat itself.

Serve with a side salad or would also go excellent with mashed potato as well.. the more mild wine saurerkraut works very well with the lamb and the Qauinoa works to help bind it together but far less then tradional carbs..