Our very old farmhouse was built in pieces, and the kitchen (and therefore wood stove) got moved as the house got added on to. That means we had not one but two chimney holes in ceilings to deal with. We've yet to deal with the one in our daughter's bedroom, but the kitchen ceiling we... Continue Reading →
Posts
True Meaning of “Hen House”? Our Rooster Needs a Break, It Seems!
With these snowy days, I've noticed Rooster Cogburn has a funny habit...one that indicates life in the hen house is hard on a fellow! This photo isn't very good, but here's what happens: I open the chicken coop door and the "girls" decide it's still too cold to go out so they stay inside. But... Continue Reading →
Stop with the Sterile Shrink Wrap! How to Cook–and Use–a Whole Chicken
I am working on an article about why we eat so much chicken in the U.S., and in doing so, thought maybe some people could benefit from knowing how to avoid buying the sterile, shrink-wrapped packages of breast meat so sadly prevalent in the modern-day grocery store and kitchen, and opt for a whole chicken... Continue Reading →
Old Fashioned Recipes: Dutch Baby for Breakfast
This morning I wanted to have something wholesome for my graveyard working husband to eat when he came home, something nourishing to fill his empty stomach but something a little sweet too to send him off to sleep with. I was thinking on old-fashioned recipes and what might fit the bill... Then I remembered the... Continue Reading →
Old Fashioned Christmas Cookies: Poppyseed Thumbprint Cookies
We are tradition bound in our family, I admit it. I'd be likely to waver on some things, but Emma won't let me. So every year, I make the same Christmas cookies, and they are for us traditional simply because I've always made them. These poppyseed thumbprint cookies are one of the traditional Christmas cookies... Continue Reading →
The Chicken Tractor at Our Small Farm
When I accidentally killed chickens moving the chicken tractor, I whined about it on Facebook. That led to people asking me, "What is a chicken tractor?" There are lots of types of chicken tractors and I hesitated to talk about ours because it's not fitting for what we're trying to do now, but it's all... Continue Reading →
Another Shocking Before and After Photo: a Corner of the Master Bedroom
Just a quick post to show the progress in our room from the before that we were sleeping in when we moved into the unfinished house in April: See the missing floorboards? And that dark wall, that is the outside siding. Yes, we could hear the frogs and river as if the window was wide... Continue Reading →
Shocking Before and Afters! 2 Photos to Remind Myself How Far We’ve Come
This farmhouse renovation has been and continues to be so all consuming that I sometimes lose sight of how much has been accomplished. Emma chastised me Sunday after church when we pulled up outside the house and I just sighed and my shoulders slumped as I thought of all the work left to do. She... Continue Reading →
His Boots, My Boots: What It’s Like to Be the One at Home
My day started with accidentally killing a chicken while moving the chicken tractor. Moving the chicken tractor is a two-person job, but there is only me and I make do. This morning, however, I made death. I didn't realize I had a chicken trapped until I had already snapped its neck. Lovely. This is what... Continue Reading →
Frankenbabies…
Ten days ago, these little buggers showed up in the mail. They've been in a pen in the barn until tonight when I moved them to the chicken tractor. I didn't want to move them to the chicken tractor tonight! The weather has cooled and it was rainy part of the day and windy all... Continue Reading →