Ever have so much to do?

Have you ever had so much to do you just do not know where to begin?  I've been that way since yesterday.  Yesterday was the first day since we lost Taboo that I wasn't crying most of the day.  I am a fanatical animal lover, and our dogs are furry family members.  Each one has it's own place in the family...from livestock guardian to lap companion.  I miss her terribly....

Grace has done her best to make me feel better.  She knows when I am sad and she just hovers.  Who couldn't smile when they see that big Scooby-Doo face and those lips so big you can wrap them around your head???

Kapu does a fantastic job keeping my lap warm.  We've been saying that she's a "princess in training"....

She loves to pose for the camera, and is so well behaved.....

and then we got her brother, Hank.

Kapu and Hank have the same mom & dad, but are from different litters.  Hank is 6 weeks old, 2# 7 oz of all boy.  Any sister that had a baby brother can identify I'm sure....

And now another try...

Here is a rare shot of all 4 inside dogs together....although you really can't see Joey in the pic...

I REALLY have to get things done tomorrow.  The house is a mess, I have herbs to dry, pork to grind, jerky to make, and I have several sewing projects to finish.  My kids have been a great help...although they have just mostly cleaned around the edges and let me mourn in my own way.

Here's Ben on his way out to help with something....

And Rebekah helping with something else....

Hmmmmm......people make comments that I have so many pictures of my dogs or other animals...not so many of my kids.  Do these pictures give you a clue?  At least the animals stay still!  My kids avoid the camera like the plague!

Dutch Oven Cooking

Now that cooler temps are upon us, we've started using the DO's for cooking again.  Last night we cooked our favorite chicken dinner and and apple pie.  It's all cooked in the dutch ovens in the fire pit....and only takes an hour or so to cook.  If you're "roughing it" camping, or just want an electricity free evening; this is a wonderful meal!

First you start with chicken leg quarters...I allow one leg per person, unless they are teenage boys...better go 3 each for them and add another dutch oven to the stack!

If your DO is well seasoned, just arrange the legs in the bottom.  If the DO needs something, rub the inside with a bit of lard.  Don't forget to season the chicken.  I use a salt-free poultry herb blend, then sprinkle with sea salt.  Next add 1 large sliced onion.

Then add about 3 pounds of scrubbed new potatoes.  Any potatoes will work, but the new potatoes have thinner skin.

Again, add seasoning and salt.  Then add 2 ribs of celery, cut into large chunks, 4 carrots (scrubbed & left unpeeled) cut into large chunks, some ears of corn....and whatever other veggies you'd like to toss in!

Again, add seasoning and salt.  We also added some smoked sausage on the very top.  Smoked sausage gives the meal a faint smoky flavor and besides that, we can't hardly eat a meal without it!

Then add a quart of water (try to add it in one spot so as not to rinse the seasoning off the vegetables)....

And then the most important part of the dinner assembly.....BUTTER!  Top it off with a few pats of butter before putting on the lid....(about 1 stick)

Next we start work on the apple pie.  I get the dinner and dessert assembled while Bob is building the fire. 

I cheat and use frozen pie crusts whenever possible.  When they go on a big sale, I try to buy at least a dozen boxes or the kind in the pan....because on sale they cost about 50 cents per crust....WAY worth the money to me since I can't make a decent crust!  That's a 1 pound hunk of butter....between the 2 dishes we use about 3/4 of it.  And 1 quart plus 1 pint of my home canned apple pie filling.  The last ingredient is cinnamon sugar.

First you cut slabs of butter and place them in the bottom of the DO.

Next you lay out one of the pie crusts along the bottom, pressing gently against the pan and poke a few holes in it with a knife....

Then you add a few more pats of butter, and sprinkle it with cinnamon sugar....

Now the base is done and you add both jars of pie filling, then a few more slabs of butter....and sprinkle with more cinnamon sugar....

Then just lay on your top crust, poke a few steam hole in it, more cinnamon sugar, and it's ready for the pit!

Here are both dishes before going to the fire....

Place the lids on, then set the larger oven in the fire first, covering the lid completely with red coals.  Then set the smaller oven on top, covering it's lid completely with red coals also.  Wait 15 minutes and then turn them 45º.

Every 15 minutes, they get another turn....

For a total of 4 turns.  That's 1 hour of cooking....and they're done!!

Pit cooking is so easy and FUN!  I'm thrilled that our evenings are cool again.

Busy day!

Our morning started with a frost prediction for the overnight temperatures.  Any time we've got a frost warning, there is a lot to be done!  I had peppers still growing, tomatoes, eggplant, lots of herbs...and then some cold tolerant plants.  I had to do something about the Basil, it does not tolerate freezing at all.  I dried a whole dryer full....

Gave a huge bag of it to a friend.....and STILL have at least another dryer full left to do.  Anyone need some Basil??

Our biggest adventure for the day was taking our little princess dog, Taboo to the vet.  She has not been well for a week or so now...and with her age and health I was fearing for the worst....

To help keep me pre-occupied and to keep the bill down (only 1 office call even though we brought 3 dogs)...we took the hoodlems to get their rabies shots since they were due....

All went well, except for the unnecessary drama in the car as Taboo cried the whole car trip!  She HATES car rides.

The good news is that he was able to give her some meds to make her more comfortable.  We'll know in another day or two if it's going to work.

For now I'm going to enjoy the time we have with her....and enjoy this crisp weather. 

By the way, here's a picture of my finished curtain on the back door....I'm working on a number of other sewing projects including my very first QUILT!