Canning Projects Begin Again, and More

Our butternut squash had to be harvested before it was ripe, but most of them did ripen in the garage. A few showed signs of what I thought was rot, so I decided to can those up for now and put the rest in the pantry.  Since peeling winter squash can be difficult, I figured I would work on them slowly knowing that the remaining squash will probably make 12 quarts of cubes, or twelve 15oz cans of puree. 

I also have two boxes of juicing apples in the refrigerator that I purchased from Azure for about $1.20 per pound. They aren't the prettiest apples, buy they are firm and very few have bad spots.  I haven't decided if I will make applesauce or apple butter, but I do plan to use the scraps to make vinegar.  

In the freezer we have several boxes of frozen fruit and veggies.  Most of us do not care for canned veggies, so the mixed veggies will remain in the freezer. I will more than likely make juice from the frozen cranberries since I still have jellied cranberries on the shelf from a year or two ago. The rest of the fruits will probably be used for smoothies or snacks. 

I pulled out all the tomatoes I did get from the garden and put those in the stock pot to thaw. I will make those into sauce tomorrow.

Then there is the beef we bought, a whole side, which I want to process into pints of ground beef and quarts of meatballs. I also want to can the stew beef as well as fajita beef. The fajita beef will have a taco seasoning on it while the stew beef will probably have a mixed seasoning. 

With lambing season coming soon, I hope to have several lambs for the freezer or for sale. I should have at least three lambs by the end of a few months. We leave our rams with our ewes year round due to limited space. 

Our goats are due to kid within the next two months too. While we haven't raised any goat kids for processing, the thought has crossed my mind to raise some of the castrated males for meat. Meanwhile, I am considering finally selling Jersey since she still hasn't grown to like me. I just can't be chasing a goat around to milk her. 

Come spring, I hope to breed two of my three doelings from this past spring. They seem to be growing quite nicely.  This will allow us some milk later in the year when the other goats start drying up.  

Al has been working on finishing the basement so the girls can move down there. The drywall is nearly completed. We will probably put flooring in as well, but we aren't certain what type at this point. As for the walls, there is no rush to put up paint. The ceiling will more than likely have panel boards put up rather than dry wall. 

Once the girls are moved, we will get Caleb settled in a room and fix up the other room as a guest room for those who can't climb stairs. 

I discovered we have mice in the detached garage due to vehicles going in and out as well as bikes being parked in there. Needless to say, this makes me angry because not only are there mice, but there is a huge mess which only adds to my frustration. I need cleanliness and order. The fastest way to get me stressed, other than children fighting, is an unorganized pigsty. 

But I digress.

I guess that summarizes things as of now. Until next time...

Back in the Saddle

Abby celebrated her 12th birthday on the 19th. She had friends over and enjoyed a sleepover. It was a fun time for her and I was able to chat with a couple of my friends for some time which is a rare occasion. 

The weekend before Thanksgiving, I drove up to Kentucky with the kids. It was a surprise to my mother, but my father knew. We had a decent Thanksgiving, but by evening we had one child sick. By Friday morning, two were sick. By Sunday, we were all sick with covid for the first time. 

I will spare the details because it was basically like being sick with the flu.  The problem being I was unable to return home the day I had intended. So we had to wait until the following Friday. 

I found myself in such a fog mentally after arriving home. My basic tasks and routine were absolutely overwhelming. I was exhausted and actually quite anxious.

I am doing better mentally thanks be to Yah and I slowly returned to my normal over the first 4 days of the week. We started up with homeschool on Monday and planned the menu.  

I did, however, notice myself getting brought down simply from the cloudy, rainy weather that had been continuing for days.  I was also discouraged by the lack of seasonal decor in the house: something pretty.

Most of you know we don't celebrate Christmas, but I do love to decorate seasonally. Unfortunately, I didn't have much for the winter season except for a few cute birds. 

So I decided to look online and order a few items that were on sale such as a red lantern, some candles, potpouri, and candle holders.  Then later on Friday I went shopping with a friend and we both snagged some cute seasonal finds. 

Last month, I had arranged to purchase five gallons of honey. I got that on Tuesday and we put that into smaller, half gallon sized jars.

By Sunday (today) I was feeling like things were back in full swing. Through out the week, I had been throwing small bales of hay to the does and sheep. So today, Al and I got large round bales to the pens. 

I finally got around to giving the goats their copper boluses, except Jersey who got hers during her ultrasound, and a few of the bucks who will get them next month. 

I pulled up the electric fence from out front, and Al and I added it fence to the back chicken yard making it about four times the size. The chickens were very happy to be able to forage in a bigger space. 

Al and I also got a new tarp attached over the bucks hay bale since it was torn apart from the elements.

I was able to get the house vacuumed after the girls picked up.  My laundry was done, sheets put on Alexandra's top bunk, a load of linens were washed, bread was baked, and of course dinner was prepared: mac and cheese casserole, broccoli, and peas.

The kids were tasked with house pick up, as I mentioned before. They also put dishes away and cleaned the bathroom.  It was a huge help and obviously not anything too big a job for them. 

This Monday, Alexandra has an orthodontic appointment, and I will need to run to the store for a couple items I didn't get on Friday.  

Tuesday we have to pick up our Azure Standard order early in the morning, so we will need to be up and going early. The rest of the week is pretty open for processing food like the butternut squash from the garden as well as the apples I ordered from Azure. 

Well, I guess that wraps it all up. Sorry it has been so quiet lately.  I guess now you know why.