It's waking up!!!!!

 Hello my friends!

I've had my hands full with yet another patient, Rubic, to care for.  He hasn't demanded all of my time, but I try to stay close just in case.  He needs me mostly first thing in the morning; then periodically during the day.  That gives me time to do some things around the house, and also work on more dolls.  The house is falling behind cause I'm doing more doll work.  It's just exciting to get to work on them again, and lets face it, housework is...well....housework.

In addition to inside the house, I've actually managed to get some outside stuff done as well.  I've moved this fence up to the top of our driveway.  Our old neighbor's chain link fence( behind this one) encroaches on our property line.  There is a marker there, but just in case...  Hopefully the new neighbors will see fit to remove their fence that's tangled and over grown.  Our fence is a little high, but it covers their ugly fence so that works for now.  If they move their fence, I may lower ours.  We'll see.

I love this time of year.  Things get pretty dreary starting around November.  The garden is asleep.  We don't get a snow covering; although we did get a snow shower this year.  The hens stop laying.  The days are short.  We don't use supplemental light in the hen house between Nov and end of Jan.   It just gives them a break.  There just isn't much fun to do.  But I did start some seeds.  Cool weather seeds. 

Now.....things are changing.  The days are starting to get longer, we've had some warm days too.  Those days are ones you will find me outside coming up with something to do.  We've again introduced supplemental light into the hen house to encourage laying.  As a result we're up to getting about 8-10 eggs a day.  There is something about the hens laying again that helps me breathe a sigh of relief.  I'm happy to say our frozen eggs and what few we would get from the hens, did manage to get us thru the bare egg season.  We had to use sparingly, but we made it through without having to buy any.  That was a plus.  I'm trying to plant, produce as much as possible.  Things being what they are at the store, anything I don't have to buy is a blessing.  

  We're a week away form what they call Meteorological spring.  That's when nature starts treating things like it's spring.  That's when the transition starts and we start to get a few nicer days.  Still get cold snaps, but still....I'll take the pretty days. 

 I've just come in from the garden.  I've planted Kale, Spinach, Lettuce, Cabbages and Broccoli in the garden.  These are all under floating row cover for now.  There's parsley in the green house and 3 experimental yellow squash plants as well.  I'm experimenting with them to see if they can survive in there and produce.  I'm hopeful by planting them early I can head off squash bugs.  We'll see.  I will say it's 52 degrees outside and 88 degrees in the green house (with the door open!).  I can only experiment with these three plants because we had such a bumper crop last season.  We have plenty of yellow squash canned or dried to use if these three plants die.  I do still have three other plants still in the house, along with 2 zucchini plants.  The parsley should be fine.  It's actually a semi-perennial.  It can survive from year to year as long as it doesn't get crazy cold.  

As you can see I have the plants surrounded by black jugs of water.  They will also be covered with two layers of floating row cover in the green house.  Hopefully that combined with the green house....well we'll just see won't we!

Anyway, as I was working in the garden I started to realize the plants are starting to grow, Blueberry plants are starting to swell with buds, strawberry plants are starting to green up.  It won't be long until we'll have lots of activity in the garden.  Can't wait!  

Do you have any signs of spring where you live?  What excites you this time of year on your homestead?  

Been doin' stuff!

 Good morning all!  

Sorry it's been a while since last we spoke, but I've been making up for the 2 weeks I lost being vaccinated by God for Covid!  That was a long road to hoe, but not near as long as some who've gone thru the process.  I'm not complaining at all!  I'm glad it's over and done with though.  I still don't have my sense of taste and smell back.  It is coming back a little at a time.  The other night I had chicken on the stove cooking.  We have a large open area that is a combination of the kitchen and the Den (aka the gym/man cave).  I was sitting in a chair in the Man cave with DH, when all of the sudden I smelled something that smelled so good!  It was the chicken!  I hadn't smelled anything for 2 weeks!  It was awesome.  Other things haven't come back yet, but that did; so I know I'm on the right track.  

Once I was over the Fever, the Covid, and the migraine that had nothing to do with Covid, but decided that would be the time to harrang me; I started doing things a little at a time.  I started with processing the huge amount of Bell and Jalapeno peppers from the end of the summer garden.  

The larger ones I just blanched and froze for use as Jalapeno poppers and for stuffed bell peppers.  The rest were made into  Cowboy Candy aka Candied Jalapenos  These are a very sweet hot condiment used to top cream cheese and crackers, or Hamburgers, sandwiches, Bar B Q.  All this was slow going and it was about all I could do that day.  

I've cut out things to sew, and begun the process of reclaiming the house again.  I've baked some bread.  I need to do that again.  I've made a batch of Cookies.  Probably should do that soon.  The thing that has given me the most pleasure, and strength is being outside again!  It's time to get things set up for fall and winter.  I swear something happens every fall that sets me back where I can't get it all done, but I've made lots of progress.  I've been clearing out beds, thinning strawberry beds, replanting and giving away strawberry plants, preparing perennials for colder temps, basic yard clean up and raking up leaves both for our yard, my garden beds, and our chickens.  I/We have a lot to still do.  We have 7 roosters to start processing for the freezer.  That's on the docket for this weekend.  It's no where near a years worth of chicken for the freezer, but it's something, and we'll take it.  

Yesterday was a rainy, cold day; so no playing outside.  Instead I opted to do something I've been meaning to do: Can dried beans for convenience.  It takes a while to do it, mainly processing time in the canner.  In order to maximize efficiency, I opted to do this in conjunction  with making last nights dinner: Ham and Navy Bean Soup.  So I got out my Big water bath canner and filled it with 6 lbs of navy beans.  I let them cook til almost soft.  I measured out 6 cups of beans for dinner and put that in a Dutch oven  with the rest of the ingredients to finish cooking.  I then proceeded to can up the rest in my pressure canner into exactly 7 quarts of navy beans.   

Our dinner last night was the soup paired with Garlic Parmesan Bread Sticks.  This morning I'm canning up last nights leftover soup to go on the shelf : 4 pints, plus 2 pints of left over chili.  

Yea, I could freeze it, but this way it doesn't take up freezer space, and I don't have to thaw it to serve it.  I'm feeling like this practice is going to become common place here.  It's more work on the front end, canning all this up, but the pay off of having the convenience of just opening a jar for dinner sounds very appealing.  Not to mention something shelf stable allows me to free up freezer space for other things, or to eventually get to the point where I no longer need a second freezer!  Dare I dream?  That would be a nice energy savings at a time when energy prices are climbing.  

I won't be canning up any dried beans over the next 2 weeks.  The canner is slated to be canning up the chickens we process( possibly), a turkey I bought yesterday (definitely), the bone broth from both, and some potatoes that need to have something done with them.  

A refreshing change.

 Full disclosure for those that may have just tuned in.  3 years ago this past August 27th, I had a mild heart attack ( didn't feel mild at the time).  No blockages, so that was good.  However, my cholesterol has been a concern since as far as my physicians were concerned.  It wasn't elevated and no blockages, but they wanted it even lower.  They also wanted my weight down more.  So did I.  That we agreed on.  We've just disagreed how to get there.  Funny thing was I was actually down 63 lbs from my highest weight and at the healthiest point in my entire life! 

The past three years have been stressful to say the least.  As a result My weight was up.  To be totally honest, it was up 26 pounds.  26 pounds!  YIKES.  But notice I said "was up".  It's now down 7 pounds from there.  I'm hopeful this is it and I have reclaimed things, but I'm not willing to claim that yet.  However, I will take the 7 pounds.  It's a daily journey.

So knowing my weight is up, and with now a history of heart disease; I headed to two doctor visits ( one day apart).  I'll tell you I was loaded forbear.  I was ready for a fight.  I was totally ready to deal with a vaccine push by my doctors; an Endocrinologist, and a Cardiologist!  

Know what?  Aside from a questionnaire about general health information that included a question of "  have you been vaccinated for Covid 19"( to which I answered "No"); nothing was mentioned.  Nothing.  Both visits were completely normal ( aside from having to wear a mask ((eye roll)). 

I have to say it was quite a nice change.  I still had bodily autonomy at my doctors office.  I really did appreciate it.  There are now at least two physicians I know that still respect the "Patient Bill of Rights".  Yes that is actually a thing.   To read the full version, you're welcome to click here

Here's a couple from the list I thought to highlight:

1)  The right to Refuse care

2)  The right to agree or refuse to take part in medical research studies without it affecting patient's care.

3) The right to give informed consent prior to the administration of any non emergent care by receiving  information on the benefits, risks, alternatives to a particular treatment, as well as benefits and risks of those alternatives.  

4) The right to have respect shown for the your( and my) values, beliefs and wishes.

It was nice to see that still in action in my neck of the woods.  If it isn't in your's, then fight for it!  You have rights as a patient.  Don't let them tell you otherwise.  

I will leave with this one little bit of new info I've discovered.  I was shocked to see that my cholesterol, which is usually really good, had shot up to 238!  It has never been over the 180's, even when I was very overweight and eating junk.  Guess what?  According to WebMD, stress over a long period of time can release large amounts of cortisol and can increase cholesterol levels!  That's news!  

It's not like we've all been under excessive amounts of stress lately have we?  NAH!

Needless to say I'm working to get those levels back where they need to be.  I'm moving, and getting my weight down.  It's a daily journey.  

 I'll update when I can. 

Updates on the homestead...the good, bad, and ugly

Things are clicking right along on the homestead.  We've had some successes and failures.  I thought I would bring everyone up to date.

First of all, to all concerned, hubby's surgery went well.  He was in the hospital about 4 days.  Today marks 3 weeks since his surgery.  He hasn't recovered fully yet, but there are times when, if I didn't know better, I would think he hadn't had surgery.  He plans to return to work sometime next week.  He has to get a Dr's release first.  His post op appt is in another 3 weeks.  Until then his return will be with conditions I expect.

One of our failures has been supporting these hens as they brood on eggs.  I understand they need to try and fail a time or two before they get it right, but we have sacrificed 5 dozen eggs to achieve 2 chicks.  That's right, 2 chicks; one hen and one rooster.  Giving credit where credit is due, the hen that hatched those eggs, while lousy at hatch rate, has been a good mama to the two.  We have another hen sitting on five eggs, so we'll see how she does.  They should hatch in about a week.  She seems calmer.  Here's hoping.  The bantam hens managed to hatch out 2 chicks as well.  One died immediately we think (we hope).  The other one seemed fine.  The sad story about the healthy one is it also didn't make it.  My husband went out to see to the chickens,(This should be an easy task.) and saw the hens attacking that one little chick.  Without thinking he started to run to rescue the chick,  His nerves aren't ready for running and they just locked up and he fell.  He still managed to get to the chick and rescue it, but it didn't survive.  We had it in a brooder for two days giving it food and water, keeping it warm, treating the wounds, but it was just too frail and passed in it's sleep.  We removed the rest of the eggs from the nest.  None of those hatched.  We think one of two things happened.  We think the non brooding hen pecked the chick and drew blood and either the mother hens were trying to save it and did more harm than good, or the sight of blood caused a frenzy.  Chickens will peck an injured bird to death.  FYI.  So we have gone back to using an incubator.  We did, however, order a well reviewed, well made incubator.   When it comes on Wednesday, we'll have eggs ready and try one last time.  

Here it is, if interested

Now on to more positive things!  

The garden is starting to fill in, and produce!  Not a whole lot at the moment, but I'm harvesting Snow peas, Spinach, Turnips (few), Strawberries, Asparagus, and Kale.  The Kale is doing really well.  I have some green kale I'm letting go to seed to harvest the seeds for planting.  I'm harvesting all kinds of herbs; Mint, Cilantro, Chives, Rosemary, and Parsley.  My dehydrator is coming in very handy.  In fact I do believe I will have it running 24/7 for a bit.  So far today I've dehydrated Kale, Parsley, Cilantro, Spinach, and Mint.   I love my little dehydrator.  

Here it is, if interested

Back in Feb, we paid someone to grade and clear  the yard along the side of the driveway.  I didn't realize how much planting space that would give me!  I have my tomatoes, peppers, watermelon, and squashes there, and still have room to plant more.  Just need to get to it.  Right now my main garden has the Broccoli, cabbages, some tomatoes, herbs, beets, snow peas, garlic, spinach, kale, corn, strawberries, and beans.  I also have some volunteer butternut squash and Pumpkin growing.  

After the grading and before planting.

Now it's planted, but not all the way.  I still have room.  Closer to the camera, but too small to see are my watermelon plants and raspberry bushes( out of frame).  Past the tomato plants are squash and peppers, but they are still small.  I have more room further back.  Not sure what to plant there.

With food prices going up, and continuing to do so, I'm planting every thing I can.  In fact, the other day, while pouring out some pinto beans to use for dinner, I spilled some.  As I swept them up I thought "I wonder if these will sprout".  So I put them in a jar, covered them with water, and let them sit a few hours til they were swollen.  Then I poured off the water, leaving them in the jar.  I covered the jar with cheese cloth ( a paper towel will work too), and watched them over the course of a few days.  After a bit I saw the little sprout emerge and I took them out and planted them with my corn.  Pinto beans are a runner or vining bean.  They need something to climb on.  The corn is tall enough where they can support the beans as they grow.  I planted 36 seeds.  They are starting to emerge.  So now I have spilled the beans about the benefits of spilling the beans!  lol.  

Resisting the urge to just open the coop and say " be free you're free range now" after the whole chick attack, I have a revamped run for the Bantam chickens in the works, and am happy to say I only purchased the PVC joints to make it.  The rest of the PVC was taken from an old run that was broken.  

I have to include this though.  It seems our Bantam rooster has a thing with the full size hen we have staying with them.  Love conquers all!

We also have a new coop/run we're about to build once the rain stops.  This is along the lines of a hoop coop that's all the rage among homesteaders; only this one isn't made with cattle panels.  Instead it will be made with PVC and Wood.  I'll write about that one when the time comes.  I have some different design ideas so that this can work as a coop, green house, or protection for my blueberries when we have the surprise freeze.  If it works, I really will be patting myself on the back!  This coop/run will be for the chicks we hopefully can hatch in a few weeks.  

Stay tuned!

Happy Homecoming

 

Hello everyone!  

Remember the medical issues I spoke of?  Well we had one of them, hopefully, resolved this week.  

DH was diagnosed 15 years ago with spinal stenosis.  That's where ones spinal column narrows over time due to thickening of the bone within the column.  It can narrow and narrow until it presses on the nerves.  This causes numbness, tingling, and/or pain to the legs.  If untreated, it can put the patient in a wheelchair.  15 years ago, physical therapy worked and hubby went on his way.  He would have an occasional flare up, but he'd do his exercises, yoga, or simple stretches and he'd be good.  Then about 4 months ago he had a flare up that wouldn't go away despite his best efforts.  He went back to the Dr.  Physical therapy was tried again, but this time to no avail.  Surgery was really the only option.  Cortisone shots would've just been delaying the inevitable, and only for a few weeks.  So this past Monday, on my Birthday no less, Dh had his surgery.  Since then, he's been in the hospital recovering enough to come home.  He was finally able to come home today.  In fact we've been home about an hour.  

DR VISIT- $

PHYSICAL THERAPY- $$

2ND DR VISIT- $

SURGEON VISIT-$

SURGERY- $$$

HOSPITAL STAY- $$$$$$$$$$$

HUBBY BEING PAIN FREE-  PRICELESS!

It's going to take him about 4-6 weeks to recover full function.  3-6 months for full recovery.  Not sure, during that time, when he will be able to return to work.  So watching my P's and Q's when it comes to money.  We have enough, I believe, in savings for living expenses and medical bills.  We have a HSA, but it has been depleted from other medical expenses.  We have enough, in the HSA, to cover some of the medical bills.  So while we have it to cover these things, it's still going to make things snug here.  

We know approximately how much our part of this will be and have set that amount aside to pay bills as they come.  With that amount set aside in savings, I can transfer as needed to cover other expenses as they come.  I will only take out of savings what is absolutely necessary.  So its going to be a snug year.  Even once the medical bills are paid off, we have a Health Savings account to catch up.  

This was an unforeseen expense.  I am beyond grateful that we had an emergency fund to cover living expenses and medical bills.  It took a lot of the stress out of an already stressful situation.  

With a little planning, emergency funds can be started with the smallest amount of money.  Just add to it over time.  It's better to start it now when there isn't an emergency.  If you're someone who makes say $30,000 a year or more, shoot for $1000 as a goal (to start).  If you make less than $30,000, shoot for $500.  DON'T TOUCH IT!  A family vacation isn't an emergency; neither is Christmas, school clothes, date night, a new TV, etc.  These should all be budgeted categories. You could say a car repair is an emergency.  I can see that, but really, if possible, car maintenance should be a budgeted category aside from savings.  A true emergency is more like a job lay off, medical emergency, major home repair ( like to pay your deductible when a tree falls on your house).  I say all of this because we can( and I have) justified taking money from our emergency fund for things that just weren't emergencies to begin with.  

If you have the ability to put money into an actual Health Savings Account, do so.  We've loved ours.  If you don't have insurance, or a Health Savings account, pay yourself an insurance premium and make that your "policy".  Many doctors offices, and even hospitals, will give a discount if you don't have insurance.  Just ask ahead of time. If you pay yourself that "premium" by putting it into a savings account, you have a fall back in case of a medical emergency.  Any little bit helps.  

Yes, funds will be tight here, but we'll be okay.  I may need to get a little more frugal or creative than previously, but we'll make it.  I'm grateful to have that cushion to see us thru.  

Well she did it! Kinda

 Our crazed Mama hen has finally managed to hatch out 2 chicks that lived, and from what I understand, three that didn't.  We have removed the rest of the eggs and began the process of incubating them.  I think to is about all she can handle right now.  We're still waiting to see who else, if any, hatch.  I've heard that the instinct to brood (sit on eggs) has been bred out of chicks bought at the store, and that the hens have to try and fail a few times before they finally get it.  I'm not sure how true that is, but there was definitely a learning curve with this one. First off she couldn't figure out which box to lay in, and, we think, she probably took breaks more than she should have.  She seems to be caring for these two.  I had to clean out the nesting box( gross) and put in fresh bedding.  I also dipped the chicks beak in the water just in case she hasn't shown them how to drink.  She gave it a valiant effort.    

On the other hand, we have two broody mama's in the Bantum coop.  Bantums brood very easily, and these were hatched the old fashioned way and not bought from a store.  Big Mama is our normal Broody Mama, but it looks like one of her daughters has joined her.  We don't need any more bantum chicks.  We have 5 right now; 4 hens and a rooster.  Chicks mean more hens and roosters.  Bantum roosters are really too small for the freezer, so we would need to find them homes.  So we have been taking the bantum eggs out from under her and replacing them with full size chicken eggs.  Only 6 full size eggs between the two of them.  Bantum hens don't care. They will sit on eggs, any eggs, and they will mother whoever hatches, even when they are her same size!  This is Big Mama with her babies from last year.  She hatched out 4 full size chicks and 2 bantum chicks.  Those black ones are full size.  

This is Taz.  This is the Bantum chick we hatched in an incubator last year after big mama left the nest.  We actually hatched out this one and a full size black chick named Gonzo.  We named them Taz and Gonzo because we thought they were both roosters.  Oops.  Turns out they were both hens.  Turns out they were best buds too.  

In other homestead news, it looks like we will be getting cattle panels after all.  Only this time, I'm pressed for time to get it in, and really don't have a good time to do it.  Looks like we have a 39 degree temp in our future.  39 won't kill my tomatoes, but it will lessen pollen production and kill any fruit on them.  Yes, my tomatoes are flowering and have fruit in some cases.  I've tried to cover them, but it's hard to keep them covered if it gets windy.  An actual wind tunnel can fix that and operate as a temporary green house in a pinch.  The problem I'm running into is the size of our truck.  It can carry maybe 2.  I need at least 6-8.  This means multiple trips to the store, or hope someone can deliver it all, sooner rather than later.  It's an investment, but something I hope pays off long term.  My hope is extending the growing season on both ends by being able to use this as a makeshift unheated greenhouse.  My main goal, though, is to cut down on tomato losses from blight.  

On a cautionary high note, I actually have a little corn and yellow wax beans coming in.  I just threw some seeds into the ground to see if they would be viable.  These were either seeds I've saved or older seeds.  So far, those are the ones breaking thru.  I still have 8 beds to do something with!  I also have some tomato volunteers.  Not sure if they are Roma or Cherry, so can't decide weather to keep them or not.  They're little, not flowering or anything.  If I do keep them, I'll move them to a new area.  

So how's your garden coming along?  Any experiments being tried? Anyone have experience using the cattle panels this way?  I would love the feed back.  

How things did or are doing! How's that for a gripping title!

 Good morning all!  It is a tad cool here, around 48 degrees at the moment, but windy.  Really windy.  I hear it whistling  against the house. Makes me want to read "The Long Winter"!  My tomatoes plants are out on the patio table, scrunched together to help block the wind.  It's one things for them to get used to wind blowing.  It's another to have them saying " what in the world!"! (Smile)  Anyway, I thought I'd take a bit and update how some of my trials succeeded or not.  

First off, the broody mama hen is still a wait and see.  All but one of our full sized hens are black so it's hard to tell them apart.  I suspect the broody hen is trying to decide which laying box is the one she wants to be in.  So we are just gathering whatever eggs are available and we'll see if we have baby chicks in a couple of weeks.  I've been told that commercially bought hens have had the instinct to brood bred out of them and so it takes a bit of trial and error before they get it right.. Most people that buy hens want eggs, not more chickens.  Some of our hens were commercially bought, and some were home grown (as in born here).  One of our Bantum hens, we affectionately call "Big Mama", broods very easily.  She actually has hatched out a few full size chickens for us.  Some were roosters, but I think we got about 3 full size hens from her last year (as well as some bantum hens).  I have to say it's very entertaining to see her giving a full size chicken, twice her size,  the "what for" as mothers often do; and they listen!  lol.

We're getting about a Dz eggs A DAY!  We had almost 8 Dz in the fridge that needed addressing.  I froze 2 DZ.  Which means I greased a 12 cup muffin tin, beat 2 dz eggs and poured them into the muffin cups equally.  It filled them to the top.  Then I put a silicone baking mat (these things are so versatile!) over them to cover and placed them in the freezer.  Once frozen, I will dip the bottom of the pan in water to loosen the eggs, pop them out, and put them in a gallon size freezer bag to keep stored in the freezer for the winter months when the hens aren't laying.  3 Dz were washed for our everyday use.  The rest will be taken care of later.  That was all I could do today.  May try my hand at pickled eggs.  Haven't decided yet.

The buttermilk experiment was a smashing success!  I even tried the cream cheese, but I don't think I let it culture long enough for the cheese.  I will try again.  It's worth it.

Not overly impressed with the heirloom yogurt culture.  I followed their process to the letter.  It set up, but the yogurt ended up watery.  I am in the process of straining it to make it Greek yogurt, but I'm getting a lot of whey and not as much yogurt as I would like.  I set aside some of the yogurt as "Seed yogurt" for the next batch.  I'm going to try it again and see how it does.  If I get similar results, I may just go back to buying a 5 oz container of good yogurt at the store and making it that way.  I do love having the whey.  You can use the whey in smoothies and baking, but you also use this to soak beans or grains before cooking them.  It helps the beans or grains break down before cooking.  Makes it easier to digest.  Also Whey is full of nutrients and enzymes that are beneficial for you!

According to Sally Fallon's "Nourishing Traditions", a TBS of whey taken three times a day can help keep ligaments tight , muscles strong, and in joint health.  At my age, joint health is a good selling point.  Check out her Blog here.  She's way more knowledgeable than I and can explain things much better.  I will say she is the reason I started using only whole milk! (smile).

I need to bake bread today, as well as maybe a few other things.  I also plan to get out in the garden.  I need to pick spinach, and still reclaim some beds before planting.  

Also, before the leaves get too big and they're obscured, I plan to go, with a saw, into the woods behind our house and cut the large Kudzu vines currently plaguing the better trees ( and my apple trees).  I need to take a picture back there to show you guys something neat.  I'll do another post on that pic later.   Stay tuned.

So if anyone has any yogurt or cheese making tips, I'm all ears.... or eyes as the case may be.  So what's happening on your homestead?  Are you trying something new?  Have you finally acquired a knack for a certain skill!  Please share!

  

Just call me Stu...

 True confession time.  Like Stu of Toy Story fame, I don't take care of my toys ( sigh, hanging my head).  Not that I take glee in blowing them up or feeding them to the dog; it's more a matter of being busy and getting distracted.  Things are always "I need to get to( insert task to procrastinate here)".  Oh!  I guess I need to clarify about the "toys" per sea.  My gardening tools.  For example, my wheeled cultivator.  It actually isn't that effective in a clay soil garden like we have here in Georgia, but in my raised beds, has done okay.  I really just like the thought and look of it.  As you can see it needs some love.  This is just one of the many tools needing some attention in my toy box.

Okay, now that we have that clear and out of the way.  I am happy to announce you can teach a somewhat old (ahem) dog new tricks.  Better late than never right!  

So yesterday I gathered all of my wooden handled garden tools to give them some love and attention.  I gathered them all, sanded all the handles and cleaned them off and then proceeded to coat each of them with boiled linseed oil.  FYI, as long as your linseed oil has no additives, it is safe to use in a garden.  

This Boiled linseed oil soaks into the wooden handles, protecting them from the elements.  It's been on my "to do" list for a while, but something else always takes precedence.  Now all of my wooden handled tools are ready to go; including, now my wheeled cultivator.  What cha think? 

 

Two of my tools, and really very important tools, were broken.  I have a 4 tong cultivator and a hoe//cultivator that were broken.  This morning I re-glued the handle of the cultivator.  I still need to fix the head of it so it will go back on.  That has to wait until the glue dries.  I was able to fix the hoe/cultivator.  It was never really made very well to begin with, but I fought with it until the head came off.  Once it was off I could at least fix it.  I sawed off the tip of it that had rotted ( I know cause it wasn't protected).  I had to reshape the handle to take the metal collar that sits just below the head.  That required shaving it down and sanding it well.  I then glued the collar back on before addressing the actual head.  In order to fix the problem that was there from the get go( in other words, not my fault), I had to saw off the pin that held the head to the peg that, in turn, slides into the handle.  It was loose and wouldn't keep the head straight.  Once I took that pin off, I removed the old pin/peg, and, instead, reattached the head to the handle with a washer and a rather large eye hook.  My thought process was that now I can easily hang this up when not in use!  As you can see, I've been using it.  

Pretty proud of the finished project.  I think my dad would be torn between pride in my ingenuity, and eye rolling because I should care for my tools better.   So frugal tip of the day, and one I should have been paying better attention to, care for your tools; all your tools(toys), so they can stand the test of time!  

Any other procrastinators out there?  You can tell me tomorrow!

Cast Iron Pans...at least the 8th or 9th wonder of the world surely!

 I don't care whose pans you buy; Pioneer woman, Pampered chef, etc.  There are no pans with the cooking power, nonstick ability, and durability of cast iron.  I am sold, sold, sold.  Seasoned and cared for correctly, cast iron pans will last forever, or close to it.  

1.  Cooking in cast iron can help keep you from being anemic!  Small particles of iron from your pans, enrich your food and thus your blood stream!

2.  As stated before, Cast iron will last forever!  My mother gifted me some cast iron skillets that belonged to great aunts, and a great grandmother.  The pan that was my great grandmothers dates back to the late 1800's!  I would like to see something bought these days last so long.  Well cast iron could,  just don't get the enameled stuff.  It defeats the whole purpose!  Plus enamel doesn't hold up as well.  

3.  Once seasoned correctly, cast iron is seriously non stick.  I have recently learned how to properly season a cast Iron pan, and my love affair has gone to a whole new level!  I cooked eggs in a seasoned cast iron pan the other day and, when finished, wiped it out with a paper towel and hung it on the wall!  I kid you not, I think I was giggling.  HA!  

4.  Cast Iron makes the best corn bread!  and brownies, and fried chicken, and whatever!  I baked brownies in there the other day and mixed everything up in the pan and baked it all in one pan!

5.  You can go from cooking on the stove to baking in the oven without changing pans!

While I have 2 new cast iron pots, a grill, and a 2 quart sauce pan, I really love the vintage stuff.  The vintage pans are lighter than what's made these days, and it has a story.  How cool is it to cook in the same pan as my great grandmother.  Someone I was never able to meet!  It doesn't have to be my story though.  I have other pans that date anywhere from 1900-1940; 1940- 1960, and 1960 and up.  Those pans belonged to someone, who used them to feed and care for their family.  I'll never meet them this side of heaven, but I think of them as I use these pans.  My story regarding these pans is one of restoration.  I like being able to take off the old rust and seasoning, then add new seasoning making it like new.  I found this pot at an antique store last week.  Here is the before and after:

This pot is an unmarked Birmingham Stove and Range pot dating around 1940's-60's.  The company went out of business in the 1980's.  It has been stripped and seasoned and is now at use in my kitchen.

I would love to take credit for knowing how to do this cause I'm really smart, and just know things, but I can't take credit for my knowledge.  I learned by watching this video.  I'm sharing it with you so you too will know what to do with your cast iron, or cast iron you find at yard sales, thrift stores, etc.  

Oh!  I will share this I have discovered.  When you want to do your last seasoning of the pan (I do three), Fry a pound of bacon in it.  Remove the bacon.  Pour off the bacon fat (into a jar, cause it's great for cornbread).  Pour a couple of cups of water into your hot pan and, using a spatula, loosen any bits that remain.  Pour off this water and dry your pan with paper towels or a towel.  Put it in the oven upside down at 375 for 2 hours.  Once your seasoning is finished, you can just wipe it out and store it, or if you have to wash it, do it with WATER ONLY , dry it and finish drying on the stove top just til dry.  

Enjoy!

Homestead happenings! Kinda Lengthy, you may need two cups of coffee.

 Hello all!  I haven't forgotten you.  It's just the time of year.  Things are picking up on our tiny homestead.  

The chickens are giving us about 8-12 eggs PER DAY.  We've actually already sold some, frozen some, and given some to family.  Not sure, yet, what we're going to do if one of the hens decides to go broody and sit on eggs.  We don't really need new chickens at the moment.

Finally!  We have Beets, Red Kale, Snow peas(yay), Spinach, and Turnips coming up in the garden.  I didn't think those seeds were ever going to sprout!  Still waiting on Lettuce.  A friend shared some of her cilantro plants (Thank you K!).  4 cilantro plants, and they are doing well after being moved.  

We've had crazy amounts of rain, but recently have had some dry spring like days and so I've been out in the yard playing!  Playing as in cleaning out beds, cleaning up the yard( if gets kind of a mess over the winter), and putting in the structures for the garden i.e. trellises, fencing, cages, etc.  One of the things I've put up is a wind tunnel.  I'm trying something different with my tomatoes.  From what I'm told, tomatoes don't like to get watered from the top.  I've dealt with blight for the past few years, so I'm thinking this might help.  It will protect the plants from the rain, but still allow them sunshine.  We'll see.  It does mean I will need to water them by hand.

As for my seedlings, I have broccoli, red cabbage, green cabbage, parsley, chamomile, lavender, and tomatoes coming up.  I started some of these, especially the tomatoes the last week of  DECEMBER!  Again, this is to, hopefully, help with a large harvest of tomatoes.  I'm hopeful having older tomatoes plants set out will enable them to produce a crop before heat, bugs, or blight can get them.  I would love to have enough tomatoes to can ALL of our tomato products for the year.  These are just a sampling of a few.

So my canning/ preserving wish list goes

1 Tomatoes:  you name it!

2 Red cabbage: Spiced red cabbage ( so good!)

3 Green cabbage- Sauerkraut,  Hubby loves Brats or sausage with kraut

4 Lavender- Essential oil

5 Parsley spice

6 Chamomile- Tea

7 Broccoli- freeze

8 Spinach- canning in small jars to add to soups, quiches, etc.

9 Beets- Beet Jelly (tastes like a fruit jelly)

10 Turnips- roasting

11 Snow peas-  Freeze what I don't eat standing in the garden lol

I also intend to plant:  Hot and mild peppers, Zucchini, Butternut, green beans, black beans, lima beans, black eye peas, corn.  I have strawberries, blueberries, and black berries that are perennial and I hope will produce well.  Well see.  My goal is to use every canning jar I own for putting the garden away.  While I would love to be able to grow everything we eat, that's just not possible where we live, but, as much as I can;  If we use it, I would like to produce it.  The more I grow the less I have to spend on Groceries at the store, the fresher it is, and the less it costs over all.  

As for spending less at the store, all the craziness going on these days, has strengthened my desire to support local small businesses.  Like with my garden, I can't get all of my groceries at small businesses, but I can get some.  With some creative thinking I can get more.  

We have a local farmers market/grow house about a mile and a half up from our home.  I've bought seedlings there in the past and they are convenient to grab a forgotten item, but they weren't as cheap as the big box stores.  I was in there the other day to grab a pound of carrots and had the idea.  I asked an employee if it was possible to buy more of an item and get a discount.  He said I could buy a case of carrots; 48lbs for $31.  That made the per pound price .65 which is actually good.  Now we do use a lot of carrots; with roasting and all, but 48 lbs.!  I pulled the trigger and ordered a case.  I took 26 lbs. and promptly put them in the fridge.  We used 3 lbs. that night with dinner, and I canned the last 19 lbs. for the second part of my experiment; would canning store bought fresh carrots save me over store bought canned carrots.  

From the 19 lbs. of carrots I got 26 pints of canned carrots.  Each pint holds 8 oz. of carrots.  FYI one 15 oz. can at the store holds 7oz of carrots.   The canned carrots at Aldi cost .55 a can I believe.  I looked at Kroger and Walmart and it's way more.  These that I canned cost me .48 a jar.  Had I needed to count the price of the lid, it would have been .60.  In this case I didn't have to count the cost of the lid. Had I needed to count the cost of the lid, I think I still would consider this for these reasons:

1.  Less trash.  Because everything is in reusable jars, means fewer trash bags.  

2.  Better quality product.

3.  More volume of food in each jar compared to the store bought canned

4.  One thing I did notice during the pandemic buying earlier last year was that canned food was in limited supply, while fresh wasn't and seemed to be priced well.  Part of that was and still is a tin/aluminum shortage, in addition to the panic end of the world "I used to tease people who stocked up until I needed to stock up" buying.  By knowing I can buy fresh and can it myself at a price comparable to canned, I need not compete with others buying canned food.  

5.  I don't or won't need a can opener, or deal with a pop top.

I'm sure there are other reasons.  As I picked up my 48 lb. case of carrots, I asked the owner if it's possible to do this with other items as well like potatoes, onions, etc.  He said it should be possible on just about everything they sell.  Now I can't can carrots every time I need to replenish my fresh carrots supply, but I had the idea to go in with some friends of mine, to buy in bulk from a local business and each pay the per pound price for just what they want/need.  That way we each can help a small business during this time, stay in budget, and get what we need.  So Guuuuuuuurls!  What do you think?  

My Love affair with silicone baking mats!

 Hello!  How is everything!  Take a load off and sit a spell.  That's what I'm doing.  I've been baking again and am down to the last cookie sheet going in the oven.  That means I get to sit!  

Tonight I cleaned out the fridge and as a result made some odds and ends to either use something up, or fill something in.  I had about 3 oz of cream cheese to use up, so I made cream cheese brownies.  YUM!  I also have mint jelly and hot pepper jelly in the fridge.  My son likes them on crackers so I needed to make crackers so those items get used.  So the last sheet of crackers has gone into the oven.  Tomorrow will be bread and mayo.

While baking these crackers, I marveled again how easy it is because of my silicone baking mats.  These are the modern marvels of the age!  

1)  They keep my cookie sheets from getting too hot and thus burning my cookies, granola, or crackers.  

2)  They are non stick!  In addition you can skip the step of greasing a cookie sheet.

3)  When the cookies, crackers are done, I can slide the baking mat off the cookie sheet with the baked item on it and then slide the next one on.  

4)  I can roll out my cookies/crackers on the mat, directly on the counter, then transfer easily to the cookie sheet by picking up the whole thing and transferring it to the cookie sheet.  

5)  They are easy to clean, and since they are floppy and such, they are easy to store.  

I've tried wax paper, floured surfaces, etc.  Wax paper moves around too much, and it doesn't matter how much flour I use, it still sticks.  Floured surfaces are fine for kneading, but rolling out very thin crackers really needs something different.  Enter silicone baking mats.  

They really don't cost too much.  You can usually get 2 for about $10.  Since they're reusable, they pay for themselves in no time.  Much cheaper than continued use of wax paper.  You can also get them in whatever size you need to fit your baking sheet.

These things are awesome.  I just thought I wanted to share.  

Tales of Nooks and Crannies

 1863 sq feet.  That's the size of our house.  No basement.  We do have a 8x8 shed outside.  Aside from that I have 1863 sq feet for living and storage space.  

Now I can hear people saying there are folks who live in much less space, and I totally agree.  I am not complaining.  I'm stating a fact.  This post is for those who live in small spaces.  

To those who live in small spaces

So, with limited space to work with, organized storage has to go up not out.  Every square inch of available space has to be utilized in a way to where it's available easily, but out of the way.  That's been my undertaking over the last few weeks; since right after Christmas.  It's amazing to me how just a few changes make such a difference.  I thought I would share some of the things I've done for storage.  Yes this required some outlay of funds, but nothing too expensive.  Most of it was just rethinking how I used the space I had.  It's a work in progress. but it's getting there. 

1)  Purge baby purge!  Especially in my kitchen.  There were things I was holding onto, not because I used them, but because I liked the idea of having them in my kitchen.  Some of these items had been my grandmothers, and some I had acquired in a box of things I purchased at a yard sale.  The box was $5 and the actual item I wanted was worth more than that.  The other items in the box were ancillary.  I had a canister set that I loved, but it took up so much space on my counter.  They all had to go.  I offered them to my daughter and some friends first.  Once they took out what they wanted, the rest went to Good Will.  

2)  Adding a shelf.  This is where I did have an outlay of funds, but I kept it small.  My sewing area is currently in our bedroom.  My dolls were in the dining room.  I use them as models for the doll outfits I make.  Having them close is important.  I added a 4 ft shelf over my work space for the dolls to reside. 

 That brought them out of my china cabinet, which allowed me to move my China into my china cabinet, which allowed me to consolidate my baking items, glasses, and dinnerware in 2 cabinets. 

 

My spices went into the now empty double cabinets, and what used to be my spice cabinet became "The coffee corner".  Counter space is a must!  I do a lot of baking and cooking.  I spend most of that time trying to find a spot to work.  I wanted items I used frequently to be readily accessible, but I need counter space.  One of the things I purged was a canister set I love.  It has the rare ability to hold a 5 lb bag of flour and sugar.  Problem is it's base is wide and so it takes a lot of space on the counter; especially when there are three of them on the counter.  In trade, I purchased, very cheaply, 4 plastic cereal containers that also hold a 5 lb bag of flour and sugar; plus came with their own labels.  These now hold my dry goods in my spice cabinet which freed up valuable counter space.  From bottom to top; spices I use most often; next mixes, dry goods, and lastly are the spices or items I use rarely.  I'm making good use of canning jars! 

Thanks to some command strips, I'm able to store some of my utensils on the doors of my cabinets.  This freed up valuable drawer space.

I know, this is kinda like the house that Jack built!  I moved 2 white 6ft wall shelves we had in our closet.  They were really too short to use in the closet, but fit on a wall in my husband's man cave/gym.  Those now hold all of his sports memorabilia, and movies/games.  

I replaced those two 6ft shelves that were in my closet, with two 1x12x8 pine boards and simple wall brackets.  This gave me extra storage, currently for empty canning jars.  

I have an armoire that really wasn't deep enough to hold regular hangers.  I added 2  2ft long wire shelves.  Shirts that have to be on hangers are in my closet.  They are few.  My jeans, sweaters, t shirts, shoes, and purses are now in my armoire.  Lastly I added another 4 ft wire shelf under the wall mounted TV in hubby's man cave.  This now holds all of the electronics associated with said TV.  Not very pretty, but it's a gym so...  

Adding this shelf under the TV freed up a book shelf my grandfather made.  It now sits in my dining room and holds a good bit of my canned garden produce.  

Like I mentioned before, while I did spend some money, a lot of this was rethinking; repurposing, and doing away with things.  I'd say I spent about $100 on shelves and command strips.  Well worth the money, and much cheaper than a room addition or another shed!

Have you been bitten by the organization bug?  What have you been doing?  I'm always up for more ideas!

 

The Pitter Patter of Little Feet Isn't Always a Good Thing

 Hello all!  Welcome to 2021.  I know I've neglected my blog for the last few months.  I have been trying to keep my head above water with my Etsy shop along with other homestead things here.  This year, I'm taking a slow down on Etsy to address much needed things on the homestead.  Guess what!  My blog is one of those things!  Hurrah!

I have to show this off though.  I found this little girl at an antique shop.  I try to find dolls that are in need of some love, and am reconditioning them or restoring them based on what's needed.   This little girl is a 1955 EeGee Susan stroller/walker doll.  She is capable of standing alone, and when you hold her hands and move, she will "Walk" with you.  When she walks, her little head moves back and forth as well.  She is the latest addition to my Etsy shop.  Here is her before and after pic.  I hope you can tell which is which.  

 

Now onto my topic at hand.  No these are not the pitter pattering feet you're looking for. 

We live next to an open field.  Said field is for sale at the moment, and if we had the money.....ah!  Anyway, I digress.  Because we live next to an open field we gets lots of critters in our yard; anything from deer, coyotes, field mice, bunnies, and rats. Yes, rats.  You would think our having an indoor/outdoor cat would have nixed that problem, but not so much.  Don't get me wrong, he has caught some of them, but he isn't the most enthusiastic hunter.  

A few nights ago I awoke to a scratching in the wall of my kitchen.  Something had gotten into the crawl space under the house.  Whatever it was sounded big.  I heard him finally gain access to the house and bump into one of the bar stools around my counter.  That didn't inspire confidence in his having a tiny stature.  I got up to investigate, but he took off under one of the appliances.  

The next morning I brought the cat in.  He slept in the house all day.  Come night fall he wanted to go outside.  I didn't let him, but my son, not knowing he was needed indoors, let him out.  That night I awoke to the sound of scratching in my bedroom!  NOT COOL!  I heard him gain access to the room and he was on my husbands night table.  I jumped up to see and he bolted.  

So yesterday I made sure everyone knew not to let the cat out.  Fast forward to evening and my hubby and I were watching a movie.  We had just let the dogs in from their potty break.  Our great Pyrenees mix, Sophie walked over to something on the kitchen floor, sniffed it, and grabbed it. 

She immediately dropped it.  It was the rat!  He was just sitting in the floor!  Heavens to Mergatroid! He ran behind the fridge.  Yall this guy was big!  My hubby jumped up, got more rat bait out and started putting it out.  What he had put out a few days ago was gone.  Now we wait.  Neither of us felt like pulling out the fridge to see if he was there.  We figured he had gone under the house again.  About an hour later I got up and started loading up the dinner dishes.  While I'm doing that, I happened to look over at the floor on the other side of the open dishwasher.  He had come out and was lying on the floor.  He was stretched out.  He looked to be about 12 inches long!  He was about 5-6 inches in diameter around the belly.  I about jumped out of my skin.  Hubby got up and tried to get him to go into a bucket we had.  I, however was poised atop the treadmill platform and the cat was pawing the back door to be let out. The rat was lethargic now, but had enough energy to go under my stove.  Drat!  We felt like he was on his way out.  It was just a matter of time.  The plan was to get him out in the morning.  

I woke up this morning around 3:30.  I came out into the kitchen with my phone flashlight on to make sure there wasn't anything waiting on me.  There he was, laying under the cabinet on the kitchen floor.  He was still alive, but the fight was gone.  Using the bucket from last night I rigged up a way to get him into it.  He tried to fight but really didn't have it in him.  Once in the bucket, I was able to put him and the bucket outside.  Secure in the bucket, he can at least die in peace.  He's protected from the rain and any predators.  I don't think the poison is what got him.  I think Sophie's bite did.  Though she didn't break skin, I think she injured him in some way.  I feel bad for him.  Had he stayed outside, away from the chickens, and away from our house, he would still be here, but I can't have him threatening the chickens, the chicks, or bringing in who knows what.  

Needless to say I was mopping the floor this morning at 4 am, and I have learned my cat is useless!  I will probably be doing a major wash down of the kitchen by lunch.  

A Successful week all round!

Good morning world!  How's everyone!  I'm fit to be tied today.  I've successfully completed a full week of healthy eating and activity.  The scale has awarded my efforts with a 5.6 lb weight loss.  Now some of that may be water weight, but it's no longer there is my point.  I use a website to keep track of calories called www.sparkpeople.com.  Each week I record my weight (well I'm supposed too, but some weeks I haven't recently).  I looked back over the last 6 months of recordings, and have not weighed this weight in 4 months,  

I've worked out or been otherwise active every day this week, but it's my eating that sealed the deal.  That's been my main issue.  I'm an active person in general, and while I did avoid the treadmill like the plague (or I guess in our day and age "The Rona!"), I've been outside most days doing rather physical work.  My eating was the problem.  I couldn't seem to get that under control.  It was like I had an angel on one shoulder saying "You don't need to eat that", and a devil on the other saying "one time won't hurt".  One time won't hurt, but a string of ones times will.  

If anyone is wondering what plan I'm using, I've gone back to what I know and what worked for me, and is working for me now.  

1.  Real food, nothing diet, nothing artificially low or nonfat, no processed food.  While I can and do have an occasional form of bread, the vast majority of my carb intake comes from fruits, veggies.and dairy.  When I am having some type of bread item, it's limited, whole grain, and unprocessed.  

2. Portion control.  People turn off at this one usually.  I've found the vast majority of folk want something where they can eat as much as they want with no calories to worry about.  Well I do too!  I want a Million dollars as well!  Our bodies work very specifically.  It is calories in, calories out.  Doesn't matter what diet plan you're on, trust me, it's still calories in calories out.  It's even more important for me because I have an autoimmune disease called Hashimoto Thyroiditis.  Basically my immune system attacked my thyroid, so mine doesn't work anymore.  I've been on meds for this for 30 years.  Due to this, my metabolism is slower, and I need to keep my protein high normal and my carb level low normal.  Spark people helps me do this because they break everything down so I can see what I ate in each category.  So to be accurate, I have to weigh or otherwise measure what I eat.  I guess it can be a bother, but I'm just used to it now.  

3.  Counting calories.  Naturally this goes with portion control.  This is my boundary line.  I can choose to eat whatever I want, but I can't go past my boundary line.  By the same token, I need to make sure I'm eating the minimum calories for my body to function.  Too few calories and my body will hold onto weight to protect me from the famine we are obviously in.  Nice body to protect me so.

4.  Quality-  I get more food, and am more satisfied when I choose quality foods; whole foods, fruits veggies, good fats ( and yes butter is a good fat), and unprocessed foods.  1200 calories of highly processed foods is void of the nutrients the body needs.  It doesn't stay with you very long.  It has a lot of filler, chemicals, etc that the body doesn't recognize.  1200 calories of quality foods has all your body needs,  When the body has what it needs, it won't trigger you to eat.  Yes, your body can do that.  Weird cool!  As a result, you're more satisfied.  Whole fat dairy is way better than low or nonfat dairy.  Great thing with whole fat dairy is I can eat less of it and fill in with a fruit or veggie.  

5.  Move.  Gotta be active.  I did get back on the treadmill.  I will be on it this week too, but I will also be outside taking care of animals, the garden, digging, etc.  I will be active, and I will do something structured.  I will say, pick something you can live with.  

Other tips I would give is to get a decent nights sleep, make sure your drinking water, and relish ( no pun intended) the victories no matter how small.  Keep your eye on the prize.  There are times when I won't lose, or will have a bad day.  I will get up dust myself off and keep moving forward.  Over a two year time span I put on 15 pounds.  My old self would have added all 63 pounds back plus some, but this time I never totally gave up.  I kept trying at least.  I would much rather lose 15 pounds instead of 63.  

So last week is a victory.  Yay!  Now to start on this week.and we'll see what happens!  I would love to hear other success stories!  Won't you share yours!?

Pinto beans..not just for chili. Who knew! (recipes enclosed)

I eat dried beans.  I do.  Usually in something.  Usually in Hispanic cooking; but I rarely eat them just by themselves.  That is until last night.  Oh my!

A couple of weeks ago I cooked a ham in the crock pot.  Turned out great!  The meat we used for dinner that night, and subsequent lunches and breakfasts thru the week that followed.  The fat was taken off and given to the chickens.  They love that stuff!  It's funny to watch them when they get something they love.  It's like watching chicken football.  They grab a piece and run to a corner somewhere trying to play keep away from the other chickens who are convinced they only want the piece of meat another chicken has.  Anyway, I digress.

So after all of those uses, I still had these wonderful juices from cooking the ham in the crock pot.  So I did what any other sane person would do.  I stained out the broth and placed it in a container to let it cool and solidify the fat that would rise to the top.  It did, and I pulled out the fat and put it in a jar.  That will be for the dog treats.  That recipe calls for 1/3 cup of oil.  I'll use the ham fat to replace that.  The dogs won't complain.  The broth I stored in the freezer until yesterday.

I've cooked dried beans before with a ham bone, and while it added some flavor, it wasn't much different than water to me.  But because people cook beans with ham, I decided to cook these in the ham broth.  I cooked 2 lbs of beans.  I had about 4 cups of broth, so I added enough extra water to cover the beans.  That broth was pretty concentrated anyway.  Then I let the beans slow cook on the back of my stove...all day.  This made a big pot of beans; about a full dutch oven's worth.  We didn't eat nearly what was cooked.

Yesterday was a baking day.  I made loaf bread, bagels, and granola.  Since I was baking anyway, I used up some cornmeal and made two pans of cornbread; one was for dinner, and one was for the freezer.

I liked these beans so much, I'm using some of the leftover beans for re-fried beans today.

Re-fried Beans 

1 quart of cooked pinto beans with the broth
1 quarter of a large onion, finely chopped
2 tsp minced garlic
Olive oil or Lard

Heat a little oil or lard in a skillet,  I use a cast iron skillet, but any will be fine.  Once oil is hot, add your onion and garlic.  Saute until they start to brown.  Then add your pinto beans with the both.  Add a little water if you need to in order to make it soupy.  Let it simmer for a bit.  I've let mine simmer about a hour.  The beans should thicken up as they simmer and the water cooks off.

Now I just mash mine up in the pan and don't use additional oil for frying, but if you want to, you can heat another skillet, add some oil, and mash your beans up as they fry in the skillet. 

I just mash mine in the skillet where they are.  This keeps some of the fat and calories out, and also keeps dishes used down to a minimum.

Can't have re-fried beans without tortillas so here ya go!

Flour Tortillas

4 cups all purpose flour
1 ts salt
1/4 ts baking powder
1.4 Cup of lard or softened butter
1 cup ( plus up to 2 TBS ) warm water

Mix the flour, salt, and baking powder.  Cut in the lard/butter (I used Lard).  Add the water little by little, tossing to mix.  If you need to add the extra 2 TBS of warm water, you can, but do it a little at a time.  You want the dough to stick together, but not be real sticky.  You'll add water, toss, add water, toss, until the dough forms a ball.  Just until the dough forms a ball.  Divide the dough into 16 equal pieces and shape them into a ball.  Cover them and let rest for 15 minutes.  Once 15 minutes have past, take each ball and, on a floured work surface;  flatten it with the palm of your hand.  It should be about 3 inches in diameter.  Once you've flattened each ball, start with the first ball you flattened and roll it thin, about 1/8th inch thick. Repeat this process with all 16 tortillas.  I stacked mine loosely on a plate.  Heat a skillet well on low-med heat.  Add a little oil or lard.  You should only have to do this once.  Fry each tortilla 1-2 minutes each side.  When you see little brown spots on the cooking side, it will be time to flip it to cook the next.  As each tortilla is completed, remove and put on a plate and keep covered by a towel.  Makes 16 tortillas.

Here's a pic of the finished product.  I had to take these out of hubbys lunch, as these were the last ones!  So, sorry the pic isn't great.