Patsy's Goats...

Have been going up on the hill behind our house every time they get out now.

This white one should be the next one to have kids.

February 23, Saturday

I have been working on getting the school census added to our CCHS website.  I have been indexing these records for the Quarterly and I only have Yocum, Zion Hill and Green Forest left to do on our side of the county.  Then I can start on the other side of the county.  Last night, I was looking at my list to see how many schools I had completed [34], and say that I started this indexing project on November of 2006, over 6 years ago.  Anyway, I put what I have completed online today.

See
http://www.rootsweb.ancestry.com/~arcchs/

Goat is doing fine.  He is a little billy, black except for a white spot in the middle of his forehead and on the tip of his tail.  Big white goat should be next.  The kids will love it when they come next weekend.

Patsy says she is making bread again.

February 23

Only one made it.  I think it is a billy, but not sure.

Our Day So Far...

Got the cracked wheat bread in the pan.  I made too much for one loaf, but not enough for two. That was pretty much what was wrong with the recipe I tried last week.  I will cut it down a little so it will not fill the pan so full next time.

George fed hay to the renter's cattle. They were most grateful.

Bread out of the oven.  It was tall and good.  Half a slice for lunch with the black bean soup.  So, now I do not want to fix cornbread for tonight.  We will have more bean soup and I will have some more bread.  George had Patsy's sausage and eggs for lunch.

George took hay up to the goats at the 'new' barn.  They were most grateful.

The borrowed billy would not stay in the pasture, so we put him here in the pig pen.  Pigs are long dead.  He  does not like being here alone, but he stays put.  We watered him in a bucket and fed him some corn.  I was going to just take him a coffee can of water and George said he would turn it over first thing.  I said, then he won't drink any more water til tomorrow.  But, we took him a couple gallons in a bucket.

Bedraggled yellow.

I fed and watered the chickens and then fed and watered the birds. I spread some of the chicken's corn on the deck.

Then it iced on top of the bird feed, so I fed them again.  They are still enjoying fighting over supper.

I fed the goats the last of our cubes.

George is warming up the truck and cleaning off the ice.  I thought he might be going to town, but I guess he is just clearing the ice off.  It has been 30 minutes and he is still at it.  I am not going out there.  Just watching him and the birds through the window.  And, I am not going to work tomorrow either.

Not my Mamma's Cinnamon Rolls...

They look pretty, but...

They were only fair to middling, no recipe to follow.  I usually make cinnamon rolls like Mama did, by dash, dab, look and feel.  I sorta used a recipe for these.  I found the recipe at Chicken in the Road, that West Virginia farm blog site.  She says she uses variations on her Grandmother's Bread Recipe to make all kinds of bread.  Her Grandmother's recipe calls for water and flour with a little sugar and a tiny bit of yeast.  When I see this kind of bread recipe, I always think how My Mama made the best yeast rolls I have ever tasted.  Mama made wallpaper paste from water and flour.  She used whole milk, lard, eggs, sugar and yeast with her flour to make rolls.  These rolls were light but they were not gooey enough.  The recipe said to use 1 cup of powdered sugar to make the frosting. I did not think that was enough for a whole pan of rolls, so I added about another half cup pwd sugar.  Still, the frosting was skimpy.  Next time I will do the dash and dab thing.

Now, I am on to my own version of cracked yeast loaf bread.   I found a old wheat bread recipe in the McCalls cookbook I have and used it to estimate the liquid and flour quantities.  I did measure everything and wrote the ingredients and measurements down so I might be able to pete and repeat if it turns out good. Maybe a recipe will follow.

I am working on the black bean soup, but I am thinking George is not going to like these beans and not so sure I will either.  I can eat cornbread and milk and he can have boiled ham.

It is pretty nasty right now.  Blowing ice, rain and cold.  I am glad I did not venture forth today. Just staying home and wasting flour and beans.

Thursday, February 21

This is me today.  When I got up at almost 4 this morning, it had not started yet, but by 5, it was sleeting.  There is only a small skim out there now, but they say more is on the way.  Anyway, I am not going anywhere.

I am making cinnamon rolls and later I am going to try a Aday's Own Cracked Wheat Loaf.  And, I am cooking black beans.  Patsy said she really liked black beans.  I  had never tried them, but I bought a bag last month and  today seems like a good day for a pot of beans.  I have a ham bone saved from Christmas to add to the pot.  If we do not like the black beans we can have ham soup.  I think I will make corn bread to go with them.  

Last night we had Patsy's pork stead and fried potatoes, and used all my potatoes so we cannot have fried potatoes with the beans.  I like beans, fried potatoes, spinach and cornbread.  We have have 3 our of 4.

Wednesday, February 20

Got a little snow today, but it has melted.

Supposed to get ice, sleet and snow tonight.  But, George is ready.

He has the welder right in front of  the house with cords all ready.  If it does anything, I am not going to work tomorrow.

This is pieces of hand embroidery I bought at a yard sale at Alpena last fall.  The lady selling it said it was done by her aunt or great aunt.  It had a few pieces that had embroidered dates and I think one said 1930 something. Helen says she is going to make aprons so I am sending most of this to her.  I looked at the price tag and I paid $2 .75 for all of it plus a small basket.

I see Patsy has another post up.  I am so glad.  Her internet not working gave both me and her headaches.  I had decided it was a internet connection problem, but was not sure how to fix it.  I sure hope it fixed itself.  Helen has posted Melissa's instructions for resetting the connection, in case we need to do that.

If it ices, I am staying home tomorrow and making homemade bread and homemade yogurt.

Monday, February 18

Goats in the yard.  Goatman put them back in.  Mama Bertha and the little black goat did not get out.  George says Bertha is to fat to get through the fence.  The little black goat is always lagging behind.  What I have read about goats from the goat huggers, they all say one goat will be the lead 'boss' goat in the herd and they all have a pecking order, with the boss goat always leading the way.  I cannot see that in our herd.  Big Sandy is the largest and always gets food first, and the little black goat always comes in last.  The white goat with the dark head on the left here is the most timid of all the big goats and they all bully her.  Mama Bertha pretty well holds her own, and she most often leads when they start out across the pasture, but I would not call any of them lead goats or herd boss, except when we feed them when the bigger goats get first choice.

George said yesterday he thinks Mama is making a bag, so I checked today and I think he is right.  I guess she got bread by little billy, probably in October or November.  We should have babies by April.  George thinks maybe black billy also bread the other white goat.  And, I don't think she has come in heat since we got the big billy, so maybe he is right, but the little black nanny and the two big browns have been in heat since the new billy came visiting.

We had hail and then almost an inch of rain tonight.  Thursday, we are supposed to have snow and ice.  I may just stay home if we do.

After the rain.

Sunday, February 17

Friday is go home early day at work, so I get to leave at noon.  This Friday, I went to Harrison and went junkin'.  The strawberry pot holder was one $ and the cut wire basket was 3 $.  I had a good time, and spent less than $10.

This is a close up of the strawberry.  Betty thinks she can make one of these from the picture.  It is sure pretty.  

This is the hawk sitting in a tree down on the fence line between us and Dan looking for a chicken for breakfast.  I am leaving them locked up most of the day, but last night, I locked them up early and the little banty with bad feet was left out.  I heard her cackeling under the deck this morning.  She was walking without limping, so she is getting better.