The fortune teller (local meteorologist) is calling for some cold weather and possible snow showers headed for the farm. Yay rah, I'm just thrilled. I despise overcast days. The lack of sunshine really works on my pleasant disposition (or lack thereof, LOL) Lucky the goat is keeping me laughing tho, does this look comfortable to you??? He wiped out in front of the fireplace for about an hour like this. I had to check him to make sure he was still breathing, I thought he had fallen down and killed himself!
I've been kind of half, sort of, cleaning and grinding up deer meat today. I just do not feel like doing much. I'm kind of tired and just plain sick of chasing the bills so the enthusiasm is low today. Sitting here at the computer, I can see the stack of bills sitting on the desk out of the corner of my eye. Which, of course, makes me think about how much more behind they'd all be if I had to buy food too. Then I think about whacking my son for drinking all the fresh milk on me ( I'm out of fresh butter and he drank all the dang milk!) but I have to quit that right away or everybody in the house would get whacked, even the dog.
So, what did I do instead? Yep, I got to reading over at Alex Jones' site and next thing you know, I'm watching youtube videos from Gov. Jesse Venturas television program. Now I'm mad all over again so I guess I better get back to working on that deer meat...
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I also am so happy to grab a little something from the canning shelves instead of hitting the grocery store. We do buy from the grocery but only on sale with coupons, never pay full price. The bills will get paid they always do, enjoy your baby and don't kill the boy!!
ReplyDeleteI have been out of milk for a week, and it will be another week until I can buy some. So, what am I craving? Yeah, you got it. Milk.
ReplyDeleteLiving two blocks from the best dang discount supermarket in all of creation doesn't mean a hill of beans if all you HAVE is a hill of beans...and they seem to frown on the barter system.
This too shall pass. We are gonna make it, even without milk! In ten years, we won't even remember we were mad about it! (Because the lack of calcium in our diets will have caused us to have early dementia, no doubt!)
Oh my! You don't sound happy today :-(
ReplyDeleteYou are so lucky to have fresh deer meat! I wish we knew someone who hunts for meat and has plenty to spare! Your soap looks great! Time for me to make some more...
I thought, "Oh No! the goat died, it sure looks like it's dead but... glad it's not.
ReplyDeleteYour day sounds similar to ours, only we had to deal with the city folks, while doing some prep stocking up( sale items), before our next cold front hits this weekend.
We've been dry( no milk) for over two years now, so don't even talk about milk, butter and cheese to me!*wink* LOL!!!!
Hope the remainder of your week is better :o)
Blessings,
Kelle
Hiya!
ReplyDeleteThank you for visiting my blog! I've been following you blog for a little while now. And envying you for that cow, not to mention the goats ;o)
Its so few norwegians who write blogs about homesteading, so im so glad to be reading blogs from other parts of the world.
Keep up the good work! Hope you find a way to get those bills paid! :)
Heidi
Hey Debby! LOL, if he drinks all my milk again today, he has had it! LOL
ReplyDeleteHey Kris! Oh, I know, they have no sense of humor. When the dollar isnt worth squat, they'll change their tune! Hang in there!
Hey Sheryl! We've been fortunate this year, got 2 opening day. Plenty of deer running around still. LOL, I need to make some more soap too!
Hey Kelle! Oh yah, I thought he'd done himself in too. Sorry about rubbing the milk thing in, you know me, I'm the cheese snob now, LOL The cow might as well be dry, the pitiful amount she gives. I'm looking forward to the calf. keeping my fingers crossed for a heifer!
Heidi! LOVE your blog! Well done! I'm pleased you've joined me and I'm never giving up, I'll get those bills paid, one way or another!
Hi Kat,
ReplyDeleteTake a break and have a smoke (that's what I'd do-lol). Have you every thought about maybe selling your homemade cheese via the internet? I don't know if there are any "laws" you have to worry about, but it's a thought.
Mike
Hey Mike! Yep, that's what I need, a smoke break! I did sell and give away a bunch of cheese last year but the darn cow isn't giving enough at the moment to even get a small batch going but once a week. The goats are about milking tho!
ReplyDeleteHi Kat,
ReplyDeleteOK, here's another 'city boy' question (grin): Can you make cheese out of the milk you buy at the store?
Or how about making some venison jerky? That might sell.
(As you can tell, I own my own business, so I think like that).
Cheers!
Mike
LOL Mike, I have that type of personality too! I'm always hustling to figure something out. The store bought milk will make soft cheese, ricotta which can be used in place of cream cheese in some recipes and of course, great lasagna. It just doesn't make a curd (the processing to make it "safe" for us to drink).
ReplyDeleteHi, since a raccoon killed one of my four hens, I keep three in the house IN A PEN/CAGE from sunset to two or three hours after dawn to keep them safe. Of course, now they think they are house chickens. They will come in anytime I have the door open and they are getting ready to settle down for the night. None of them have pooped inside and only three times on the porch since I started bringing them in three months ago. If they poop on the carpet, they die....lol...I love them. Anyway, a goat does not seem strange to me, except I would find it a playpen...lol. Cute little goat!
ReplyDeleteDon't worry, you're not the only one getting "stuck" on the world wide web or Alex Jones' website (for me, it's his youtube channel, since I can listen to his talks while I'm doing something else).
ReplyDeleteI keep reading your blog with interest, since my fiancé and I (husband later this year!) are planning on buying a few acres of land and getting a little homestead started eventually, too.
I've got a list of some products I'm thinking of making for the sole purpose of selling at farmer's markets as well as stocking for winter, and I thought maybe you'll get some ideas for decreasing that stack of bills (of course, authorities love trying to slow homemade product sale down...)
I know you've probably thought of, or tried some of or all of these before, but here's a list off the top of my head of what I'm hoping to do. For example jams and jellies and cookies can be sold to some extent for example via etsy.com, and that is probably going to be my #1 venue for selling non-edibles, or the kind of preserves and products that keep well in transport.
*honey (I wouldn't consider bees otherwise, but my grandparents' neighbour had bees and produced his own honey and beeswax, while tending to other work, too. They support the local farm's crops by pollination)
*beeswax products, such as skin cream and candles
*applesauce and cider, both alcoholic and not
*jams, jellies and chutneys
*meat preserves
*sausages (my hubby's going to be in charge of these, if he wants his "chorizo" once I get him used to the idea of eating the "moo-cows"... he's a townboy, I'm a hick)
*pickled veggies
*baby food purées
*arts and crafts, such as recycled paper seed pots that can just be plopped in the soil as-is
*cheese
*other dairy, such as homemade yoghurt, buttermilk and something called "viili" where I come from (I could barely walk when my gramma taught me how to make it from raw milk she got from her neighbours)
*dried fruit
*homemade sauces, dressings or BBQ sauces
*teas, spice mixes...
*beer, mead, cider, various wines, and more refined liquors...
*homemade vinegar (fairly easy, once you get the trick)
*homemade baked goods, i.e. about 20 secret family recipes put to good use outside the winter holiday season. Often, they're made from organic grain from my cousin's farm.
*wool and yarn, furs and leather (by-products of producing meat)
(and if it were legal in the US, I'd make meetwurst smoked sausages that traditionally also contain horsemeat...)
Of the above list, you get the idea, that although my family currently lives in cities or suburbia, we have on my side of the family some considerable experience with rural living. 75% of everything on our Christmas table (about 26 courses this winter) are either grown, harvested and preserved, or caught ourselves, or could have been, even without a farm, and the rest, with a few acres, would have been produced ourselves, too.
And one thing... it might be a possibility, if you get the homestead going, to run courses, have interns for help, give interviews beyond the blog, or guided tours to the farm, for a little fee, of course.
And you're right, that little fella's looking like he broke his neck on the first glance! Adorable, and unnerving at the same time! :)