New Record!!

Well today the Ladies, the Hens, have set an all time new record.  Even though they have braved the cold, wet, snow and sometimes no sun winter they continue to impress.  Today to my surprise they had laid 13 Eggs!!! Yes, 13.  That means all but 5 of the hens have laid and the day is not over.  I was just so excited I had to show you a picture.

I hope you have a pleasant surprise in YOUR day!!

PS: I have plenty of Farm Fresh Eggs and you can have your very own for $2.50-$3.00/dozen depending on size. 

Priceless...a photo is worth...

Many of you may feel the same (or not) but I have a love/hate relationship with Facebook.  I think it is great for keeping up with everyone and reconnecting with people from your past.  Facebook offers a great way to stay connected especially for long distance grandparents, cousins, and friends.  I personally don't get into the games and "liking" every post from Facebook pages I know nothing about. You know what I am talking about.... "stare at this post for 30 seconds and then comment on what you see"... Half the time when you click like it puts it on your wall and you may or may not realize it came from a Facebook page you had rather not be associated with!! So that part of Facebook I could do with out.

However, while I was browsing this morning I was reminded why Facebook is so great.  Without Facebook I may have never had the opportunity to see this magnificent picture!!

WOW, this is my Nanny and PawPaw back in the day!! Looking AMAZING if you ask me.  One of my grandmother's friends posted this and I just melted.  They both look just as great today.

And yes that is almost the BIGGEST smile I have ever been able to catch on camera from PawPaw.  I always give him a hard time for not smiling for the camera.  I tell him he takes pictures like they did in the old days where they all just stood there with straight faces.  That usually provokes a smile then "click" I take the picture. 

PS: I always wondered what Nanny's real hair color was??? LOL

Yummy!! Pork Stew

It is so nice to have enough ingredients at home to whip up dinner.  Whether it is frozen or canned this is what my husband had whipped up as I walked in from work last night!!

It is a Shredded Roast Pork stew with homemade canned stock, peas, cabbage, sweet potatoes/white potatoes, caramelized onions, corn, green beans, italian parsley (fresh) and what ever else he tossed in that I didn't see!! It was Delish!!  I also toasted some Sourdough bread with cheese on top... like we needed that but it took it over the top.

Tonight however I am on my own for dinner so who knows what it will be?? =0  Either breakfast for dinner, cheese tray (always a favorite), frozen Veggie soup, Raisin Bran, or Chipotle??  I am sure the deciding factor will be whether I want to leave the house or NOT!!

Whatever you have for dinner I hope it is Delish!!

Bluescreek Farm Meats...TOPS!!

Most of you know that Nicky and I really like to eat good. We often prefer to eat as fresh and local as possible. The main reason being we know where the food came from. And to be honest most of the time the flavor and nutrition value increases as well.
I have spoke about our garden and chickens (eggs and meat) but there are some things we don't have on our little homestead.  Beef, Lamb, and any other large animal that requires a fence!!!  Hopefully one day we can have some if not all of those but for now we have to buy it if we want it. We long decided that we would prefer NOT to buy mass packaged meat if we can keep from it.
So long story short... we buy from a local farmer that has a small shop in Columbus called Bluescreek Farm Meats.

If you want the best then thats where you go!! BUT more importantly they are more than willing to teach you about the cuts of meat and to even give you recipe help if you need it. I recently discovered a blog that one of their butchers started and I wanted to share it with you today.

His name is Tim and the blog not only offers knowledge but a ton of pics as well. The blog is called Fishmonger vs. Butcher.  I think many people would explore other meats and cuts if they knew more about the meat itself. You can also check them out on Facebook.

Below are just a couple cool pics from the farm!!

This is Dave the head HONCHO at Bluescreek...that is when his wife, daughter and son aren't around!! Good People!

And this is just a DARN cute cow!!

Neat Chicken Video

I just found a really neat YouTube video called The Private Life of Chickens.  I know it is 56 minutes long but parts of it are definitely worth it.  In the first five minutes they show a hen catching and choking down a mouse, which I didn't even know they would eat. Pretty interesting so I thought I would share it with you!!

Enjoy!

The Private Life of Chickens: Click the link to view video

Just a little HELLO from one of my own!

Happy Valentine's Day!!

Just wishing everyone a Happy Valentine's Day!!  

Tonight Nicky and I are taking his mother out to one of her favorite restaurants, The Olive Tree. Delicious Mediterranean food and the owner is always attentive to what is going on in the restaurant.  Every time we are there he comes over to greet us.  He is really a nice man!!

So whether you celebrate this holiday or not I hope you are able to surround yourself with people you care about!!

Just a funny picture of the chickens!  I guess they enjoying treading on THIN ice.  One of them ended up taking a bit of a swim last time they tried this. 

Back in the Saddle...

Well I have not written much in the past week because I was out of town celebrating my nephew, Dusty's, 10th birthday.  What a great time we had!!
It first started on Friday with me picking him and his brother up from school for lunch.  They begged my all the way to Babe's Chicken to NOT take them back to school.  They used every excuse in the book.

Little did they know my mom and I already had plans to take them to the Fort Worth Stock Show and Rodeo that afternoon.  When they finally figured it out they were speechless.  It was so cute.  So after some good old fashioned horse bare back riding, calf roping, buggy races, barrel races, and BULLS the real show stopper arrived!!!

YES, that is a Monkey, riding a dog, herding sheep!! It was one of the funniest things I have ever seen. That monkey was flopping around so hard that half the time it looked like he was going to fly right off that dog.

Here are a few more of my favorite shots from the Rodeo.

The crowd's faces are hilarious

Will Rogers impersonator

And... he's off.

Not much is staying on this bull!

And what better way to end a BIRTHDAY BASH weekend than at the Skating Rink!!!  What a BLAST that was...even us "OLD" people donned a pair of skates. Some choose in-line while others went "vintage" with regular roller skates.  I really wanted to go vintage but I didn't want a broken arm by the end of the day!! 

Birthday Boy!

Noah ditched the kiddie bar by the end of the day

These two ladies (my mom and my aunt) must have spent their fair share of time at the rink back in the day... backwards, forwards, pairs, you name it they can do it.  All you young punks stand back and take a lesson!!!

And yes that is ME stealing someones kiddie bar... I can go so much faster with this thing!!!

We all had so much fun this may be a new tradition when I go back home. Everyone, I'll see at the RINK!!!

HAPPY 10TH Birthday Dusty!!!!

We all love you!

Success!!!

I successfully completed my first week at the new job.  AND the "babies"(chickens) have started laying eggs. YES, they started laying about 5 weeks early. My chickens are simply amazing.  I am currently getting about 6-9 eggs a day and it can only get better.  "They" say that chickens decrease the amount of eggs they lay in the winter due to the decrease in daylight hours. Not my girls...they have been cranking them out. Now that the young ones have started laying I am definitely in business.  Other than that it has been business as usual around here.

I have decided to give you guys a PUBLIC service announcement this week:

In case you never knew this and before you RUN to the doctor screaming "I'm dying", Pepto-Bismol can turn you tongue and your POOP black!!! So don't PANIC!!!

Your Welcome!