Cold Cold Cold and more of the white stuff!
Well, I Certainly Need to Update!
4 years ago
Tuesday, February 23, 2010
Thursday, February 18, 2010
When my kids get bored...
They do things like this. Yesterday Ben told me he was bolting down the bed of his truck. Next thing I knew, the truck bed was in the driveway and Ben was gone....in a naked truck.
So today Ben comes back....and enlisted the help of his sister. This was interesting to watch since Ben has a back injury and can't lift as much weight as he used to.....
Good thing his baby sister is strong!
The truck has it's "pants" on now. My kids do the strangest things when they get bored!
Friday, February 12, 2010
WOWSNOW!
We bought this place on June 14, 2001. Since then it has snowed about 5 times....mostly it's just dust and we don't get any good pictures. But yesterday....it began to snow. It continued snowing, on and on....more snow. Now the weather was quite mild...in the lower 30ºs so it was a beautiful thing! A few weeks ago (during kidding week), we had 15º-17º weather....that was BITTER cold.
But this is different. It's beautiful. And it's fun! 5.6 inches was the total snowfall officially. Of course I had to stick a ruler in it to be sure.
But this is different. It's beautiful. And it's fun! 5.6 inches was the total snowfall officially. Of course I had to stick a ruler in it to be sure.
After all, look at my poor rain gauge!
Everything looks so beautiful. And this is coming from someone that hates the cold!
This was what I saw first thing as I was getting ready for barn chores. You have to keep in mind how many trees we have on the property, a lot of the area was protected a bit from the snow.....but this is the front fence and gate.
Looking over at mom's house....first I saw her welcome bear...He needs to shake off.
And then I looked across the road to mom's house...it's there if you look closely.
Looking across our yard to the right is our browse pen and the road....
I love to take pictures....and I love to do graphics. But I have to say, The only thing I did with this next picture is reduce the file size. I could not have framed it any better (I took the picture through the gate which was covered with snow). I took it while in the back doing chores. The girls were waiting for me to call them to the milking barn.....and were watching me closely. Notice there is not a speck of snow on their hooves.
Next is the poor kiddos....the 1 month or less old babies that were totally freaked out by the white stuff. They love me, but no way are they getting into that white stuff to come see me no matter how much I called!
And for your viewing pleasure....I got this really neat shot of the tree in our front yard...
Saturday, February 6, 2010
A Year in Review and a Look Forward
I know it's kind of late for a New Year's post, but things have a tendency to get a little crazy here during kidding season. Even crazier if all 5 does kid during the coldest week of the decade!
Now we are somewhat back on schedule and I figured I would get this post done that's been needing done for about 5 weeks! First....a look back at our goals from Jan 2009 and see how many goals we reached....
Family 5 goals:
1. Stephanie didn't finish her diploma. Maybe this year. We're still working on it.
2. Ohhhh, the memory books. Wish I had finished these. Keeping this one for 2010.
3. Check. This one got done!
4. Check. This is one I am continually working on even though spending time with Levi is just by phone.
5. Check. Sometimes we didn't have date night twice a month, but we made an effort to have time just for us. I consider this one accomplished.
Financial 5....oy vey...
1. No double house payments. Not a single one. BUT we were able to make EVERY house payment!
2. We have the house and the truck (truck is less than $1400).
3. Check. We do not have much savings but it is more than $0!
4. Check. We have kept to the budget despite the OT cuts, wedding plans, and building 2 barns.
5. Check. We were able to get our Electric bill down to an all time low of $98! Not bad for an all electric house!
Homesteading 5..
1. Check. Our food harvest total was over 4,000 pounds.
2. Oops. Not only did I NOT make cheddar....I made NO cheese in 2009. Rare for me for sure!
3. Check. 2 pigs raised and processed.
4. Only really used 1 garden bed. Our gardens were disastrous in 2009.
5. Another oops. No grains.
Emergency prep 5...
1. We didn't raise our food storage level to 6 months, but we are certainly in the 4-5 month range.
2. Check. We have a week's worth of water stored
3. Check.
4. Check.
5. Failed on this one. Our gas tank gets filled when it's empty. Will work harder on this for 2010.
Personal 5...
Lets just say none of these were accomplished! I need to work on myself!
Project 5...
1. Smokehouse is still a dream. Maybe for 2010
2. The buck barn is well underway....it's better than half way done...so I consider this a success!
3. Check. But the pig pen has to be rebuilt.
4. We won't talk about the floors.
5. Let's not talk about the bathrooms either.
So, for a fresh outlook to 2010.....here are my 5 goals for each category!!
Family 5:
1. Get Stephanie graduated or GED.
2. Finish the memory books.
3. Finish a recipe book for each of the kids.
4. Do something special for each of my grown kids every week.
5. Have date night with Bob twice a month.
Financial 5:
1. Make 3 double house payments this year.
2. Budget and pay for new fencing.
3. Pay off the truck.
4. Increase savings
5. Keep utility bills below $300 (electric, phone, tv)
Homesteading 5:
1. Raise or harvest 500 pounds of produce. (Fruits and veggies alone...not counting meat, eggs, or dairy)
2. Make cheddar this year.
3. Raise 3 pigs this year...one for a whole hog BBQ; the other 2 for pork for the year.
4. Raise ALL our poultry this year (including turkeys). I do not want to buy any poultry from the grocery store except for dog food.
5. Finish the buck barn and build a doe barn.
Emergency Prep 5:
1. Build a 3 month supply of feed and hay
2. Increase our water storage to a 6 week supply
3. Keep the gas tank at least half full at all times.
4. Raise our food storage supply to a 6 month level.
5. Purchase a better hunting rifle.
Personal 5:
1. Lose at least 2 pounds per month.
2. Keep my desk clean
3. Walk 1/2 mile every day
4. Start packing again (We pack and hike with the goats)
5. Eat 5 fruits and vegetables a day.
Project 5:
1. Fix roof
2. Sheetrock work in the dining room and both bathrooms.
3. Dirtwork in the back yard.
4. Rebuild the pig pen
5. Build our Summer kitchen
Well, there it is. I'd better get busy because 2011 will be here before I know it! Happy New Year everybody and I'm sorry I am a month behind!!!
Now we are somewhat back on schedule and I figured I would get this post done that's been needing done for about 5 weeks! First....a look back at our goals from Jan 2009 and see how many goals we reached....
Family 5 goals:
1. Stephanie didn't finish her diploma. Maybe this year. We're still working on it.
2. Ohhhh, the memory books. Wish I had finished these. Keeping this one for 2010.
3. Check. This one got done!
4. Check. This is one I am continually working on even though spending time with Levi is just by phone.
5. Check. Sometimes we didn't have date night twice a month, but we made an effort to have time just for us. I consider this one accomplished.
Financial 5....oy vey...
1. No double house payments. Not a single one. BUT we were able to make EVERY house payment!
2. We have the house and the truck (truck is less than $1400).
3. Check. We do not have much savings but it is more than $0!
4. Check. We have kept to the budget despite the OT cuts, wedding plans, and building 2 barns.
5. Check. We were able to get our Electric bill down to an all time low of $98! Not bad for an all electric house!
Homesteading 5..
1. Check. Our food harvest total was over 4,000 pounds.
2. Oops. Not only did I NOT make cheddar....I made NO cheese in 2009. Rare for me for sure!
3. Check. 2 pigs raised and processed.
4. Only really used 1 garden bed. Our gardens were disastrous in 2009.
5. Another oops. No grains.
Emergency prep 5...
1. We didn't raise our food storage level to 6 months, but we are certainly in the 4-5 month range.
2. Check. We have a week's worth of water stored
3. Check.
4. Check.
5. Failed on this one. Our gas tank gets filled when it's empty. Will work harder on this for 2010.
Personal 5...
Lets just say none of these were accomplished! I need to work on myself!
Project 5...
1. Smokehouse is still a dream. Maybe for 2010
2. The buck barn is well underway....it's better than half way done...so I consider this a success!
3. Check. But the pig pen has to be rebuilt.
4. We won't talk about the floors.
5. Let's not talk about the bathrooms either.
So, for a fresh outlook to 2010.....here are my 5 goals for each category!!
Family 5:
1. Get Stephanie graduated or GED.
2. Finish the memory books.
3. Finish a recipe book for each of the kids.
4. Do something special for each of my grown kids every week.
5. Have date night with Bob twice a month.
Financial 5:
1. Make 3 double house payments this year.
2. Budget and pay for new fencing.
3. Pay off the truck.
4. Increase savings
5. Keep utility bills below $300 (electric, phone, tv)
Homesteading 5:
1. Raise or harvest 500 pounds of produce. (Fruits and veggies alone...not counting meat, eggs, or dairy)
2. Make cheddar this year.
3. Raise 3 pigs this year...one for a whole hog BBQ; the other 2 for pork for the year.
4. Raise ALL our poultry this year (including turkeys). I do not want to buy any poultry from the grocery store except for dog food.
5. Finish the buck barn and build a doe barn.
Emergency Prep 5:
1. Build a 3 month supply of feed and hay
2. Increase our water storage to a 6 week supply
3. Keep the gas tank at least half full at all times.
4. Raise our food storage supply to a 6 month level.
5. Purchase a better hunting rifle.
Personal 5:
1. Lose at least 2 pounds per month.
2. Keep my desk clean
3. Walk 1/2 mile every day
4. Start packing again (We pack and hike with the goats)
5. Eat 5 fruits and vegetables a day.
Project 5:
1. Fix roof
2. Sheetrock work in the dining room and both bathrooms.
3. Dirtwork in the back yard.
4. Rebuild the pig pen
5. Build our Summer kitchen
Well, there it is. I'd better get busy because 2011 will be here before I know it! Happy New Year everybody and I'm sorry I am a month behind!!!
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