January 16-22, 2023
Hey buddies!
As I sort this it is the proper morning for a cup of scorching (dandy mix) espresso with steamed oat milk and only a swirl of date syrup. Oliver is tucked into his mattress beside me, one in all his blankets masking nearly each inch of his physique. Jackson is ready by a lounge window for the primary peek of one of many stray cats that we offer meals, water, and shelter to (there’s now 3….). And it has been snowing all night time! Our winter climate has been delicate – highs within the 30’s and lows within the higher teenagers to twenty’s. We acquired just a few inches of moist and heavy snow final week. It coated the timber properly for just a few hours like thick glowing frosting. It is completely stunning. Ultimately the snow fell off in plops, sending the tree limbs bouncing up and down from the discharge of its weight. At this time’s snow is barely heavy (not almost as heavy because the final snowfall) and can hopefully persist with the timber a bit longer.
Our work life has slowed, and we settle into the winter rhythm for a few months. Numerous bookkeeping presently – planning, document updating, and paperwork is an effective quantity of my work. Making and packaging merchandise in addition to packing and delivery orders is an every-other-day activity that permits the monotony of bookkeeping to be damaged up. For these couple of months, most of our workdays begin a little bit later and finish a little bit earlier. It is the proper time for getting misplaced in tasks and studying.
Jack ready for the trio of stray cats
Our stray cat good friend Felix is strolling a lot better. He had beforehand been limping on one in all his entrance paws and is now placing nearly full weight on it. Imposter Felix continues to go to us round our supper time. He (she?) eats shortly and runs away. Final Tuesday afternoon I used to be engaged on the pc and Jay was working in his woodshop. Jackson got here working into the lounge and commenced his loopy dance, which is an alert that both Felix or Imposter Felix is right here. My cellphone whistled and it was Jay texting, telling me to look on the entrance porch on the cat meals dish.
I appeared out the window and there was stray cat #3. Oh brother! This poor little factor is skinny and really scared. He/she can also be all black and has essentially the most cute white paws. At first, the cat did not discover Jack and all of his antics within the window as a result of it was consuming so shortly. It began to stroll away after which caught a glimpse of Jack and did a double take. Then it sat there looking at him with all of his dancing. I am unable to even think about what it considered him. After just a few seconds of watching the Jackson present, it was off and working. It has been an everyday on the cat station ever since. The phrase is out in regards to the stray cat hostel!
Oliver turned 13 on Friday. I actually cannot even imagine it. With all of his points, he is nonetheless a cheerful little man who cracks us up each single day. He LOVES candy potatoes and that is what I exploit to provide him his intensive checklist of meds daily. He additionally will get just a few day by day blueberries, 1 / 4 of an apple (it is a new obsession), and, in fact, his pet food and treats. He really eats 4 meals daily – 1 breakfast, 1 lunch, and a couple of dinners, along with his snacks. For breakfast he receives his pet food plus candy potatoes with meds. His morning snack is just a few blueberries. For lunch he eats a handful of candy potato bites (each with meds and with out) and a 1/4 of the apple I eat. For his first dinner he eats his pet food. For his second dinner, once we eat dinner, he receives a really small portion of one thing like rice, potatoes, veggies, or a combo. He seems ahead to those meals and will get SO excited (and fortunately maintains his wholesome weight).
There was a slight enhance in egg manufacturing final week. It seems that one or two of the older women could have laid a few eggs! We did lose one woman 2 weeks in the past, however we’re nonetheless amazed that we do not lose extra with the age of the women we have got. Each morning once I open the coop, I brace myself for what I’d discover. It is by no means simple to see a type of candy women has handed on.
I have been engaged in winter cleansing – a model of spring cleansing that does not embrace cleansing outdoors (home windows, porches, and many others.) because it’s too chilly, despite the fact that we have had delicate temperatures. I’ve determined to sort out one room per week to undergo from prime to backside and in every single place in between. Nothing main, in fact, however it’s good to undergo issues and re-organize the place wanted, deep clear, and purge any bits that may be purged. Some weeks I will not have the ability to clear because the schedule shall be full of constructing and packaging merchandise, however I really feel like I can get by means of the complete home by the top of March.
And now a meals preservation fail. In 2021 a good friend was raving in regards to the inexperienced beans she put up within the freezer. She had packed them uncooked in baggage, not blanched, and she or he and her husband stated they have been formally their favourite approach of preserving them. I would heard that they’re effective packed uncooked for short-term use, however they degrade shortly if saved long-term (though I do not know what defines long-term). So, I waited for them to eat their inexperienced beans into Spring, they usually nonetheless stated they have been the very best. Final June I put the primary of the inexperienced beans into the freezer, uncooked, and we examined them in August to see if we favored them (realizing this was short-term however needed to attempt it). We did! I made a decision to protect ALL of the inexperienced beans this manner. To this point, I have been by means of 12 baggage, and they’re terrible. AWFUL! It is not the feel, it is the flavour. One of the simplest ways I can describe it’s a very robust inexperienced taste. I am so disillusioned that I froze all of them this manner. The one hope I’ve is the 12 baggage are beans I bought from a fellow vendor on the farmers market and I am hoping it is the number of beans. I will dig into the stack and search for the beans from our backyard (fortunately I labeled the luggage) to see if the 2 varieties we develop may style higher. Regardless, I will be blanching going ahead.
This weeks menu:
(as a reminder, I typically make 2 totally different meals as we eat in another way)
Monday
S – Home made Gained Ton Soup with Spinach, Steamed Broccoli
Tuesday
J – Pork Chop with Fig Sauce, Mashed Potatoes, Cauliflower
Wednesday
S – Home made Gained Ton Soup with Spinach, Steamed Broccoli
Thursday
J – Hen with Mushroom Cream Sauce, Mashed Potatoes, Cauliflower with Cheese Sauce
S – Leftover Chickpea Veggie Loaf, Steamed Veggies
Friday
J – Rigatoni with Marinara & Meatballs, Spinach
S – Home made Gained Ton Soup with Spinach, Steamed Broccoli
Saturday
J – Three Cheese Hen Penne, Spinach
S – Leftover Chickpea Veggie Loaf, Steamed Veggies
Sunday
That is our week on the homestead. Wishing you an exquisite week forward!!
