Thankful Thursday

I am thankful for the bright sun shinning.  That wakes up the guinea pig that squeaks.  That wakes up the dogs who have to go out side.  I must rise and shine to take them out and start my day. Just like the sun rises and shines to wake up the earth

Wacky Wendesday

Well we started off good.  We woke up early so we could create more shade for the pigs.  Then everything went crazy. You don't have to grease pigs to make them difficult to catch.  They got out of the pen.  We had to chase them.  Not once but twice.  They were able to push through the gate the first time.  Then under the fence the second time.  Our little heeler Bandit tried to help.  She is untrained and thought it was chase the pig game.  So They ran and ran and ran.  In the end Bandit figured things out and nipped at them to get them going in the right direction.  I'm sure if the Gods were watching they were laughing their heads off. 

I finished cleaning up from the washer incident.  Towels to wash, dry, and put away.  Things to put back into the utility room.  Floors to mop.  Lots to do.  I never realized how many evil plastic bags I had.  They just get piled into the utility room.  I hate them.  They are going to Walmart to be recycled the next time I go.  I hate them but am unwilling to just destroy them.  It isn't in my nature.  Since Walmart has those recycling barrels I will utilize them and save a Um Tree. 

I finished putting my summer clothes and shoes in my closet.  Then with the boxes I unpacked I put my winter clothes away.  I do not have enough space to hang both seasons.  How spoiled am I.  I'm sure I could go forever without washing.  Except undergarments.  I try to be very frugal.  None of my attire is bought full price.  I mostly shop at thrift stores.  I haven't really shopped for myself in awhile.  Except for jeans.  I riped my last pair in the most unmodest place while climbing an orange tree.  (treats for the goats)

Off to work.  I go.

Tuesday March27th

I woke up bright and early to drive to my sister's house.  Why you ask?  My mother has a Dr. Appointment.  Not really an appointment, but an appointment to pick up a sleep machine.  My mother does not sleep well.  Anyway.  The sleep study facility was easy enough to find. 

We went to Ihop for breakfast.  If you call in the serve you can get a stack of hot cakes for free with the coupon number.  My mother had already done that.  Service was good.  Restaurant was clean. 

Then we went to Safeway for meat.   My mother was worried about the ammonia slim so she had a large piece of meat ground.  I thought that was clever.  Again the store was clean.   Everyone was very helpful. 

Then I drove my mother home.  I stayed to visit with my sister.  Then I drove home.  I was exhausted.  Strange because I didn't do any thing physical.  I went to lay down.  I could not regulate my temperature.  Hot then cold.  My husband took pity on me and brought home burgers.

Million Dollar Monday

Today was one of those million dollar days. You know the kind where you keep spending money. My husband took the day off thank goodness. If he were working at his old job he wouldn’t have the ability to take time off. Things would have waited until he got off work. He would have worked late into the night to fix all our issues.

I didn’t intend to spend money when I woke up. Things just happen. Yesterday we lost water pressure to the house. So this morning upon investigation we realized the pump had gotten hot and the plastic parts had flared and there was a leak. So off to Lowe’s we go. My husband decided to change out the plastic parts to metal. Metal parts cost more money in the beginning, but they don’t break as often. We get home and he begins repairs. Then my husband notices a leak in another area. So back to Home Depot. This is where he got this part from. But oh no they didn’t have it in stock. What a surprise. Here Lately Home Depot has let us down. They never seam to have what we need. Oh they can get it; the truck comes in on Wednesday. Whatever. Need it now. Over to Lowe’s for more parts. We get home and our oldest is very unhappy. You see a quick fix lasted three trips to town. He needed to do laundry and take a shower before night school. I called the school. It seems we have an appointment that he can not miss all of a sudden. He stays home. Thank goodness. I’ll tell you why later. We get the pump fixed and ready to go. Or should I say my husband does.

Then we notice a terrible sound coming from out truck. What now? Power steering hose leaking. It needs to be replaced. Back to town. We go to Auto Zone and get the part. Bring it home and of coarse it is difficult and does not want to come out easily. The neighbor helps my husband. They get it replaced and filed with fluid. All is well.

The neighbor says our pigs are ready and he needs to move them. We were planning on getting them in the next two weeks. So we go to buy a truck load of feed. We look like rednecks on the way home. A full pick up load of whole corn and grain, and three little pigs tied to the top in a little cage. Our kennel was at my husband’s sisters house. We get home. Not completely ready. Surprise. Today while my husband was working on the water pump I had finished installing the gate on the pigpen. They have no shade because that was the next thing. I needed more screws, which we bought on our many trips to Lowe’s. The feed bins were not created yet. I hadn’t thought of what to put their feed into until yesterday. So tomorrow we will have to rise before the sun to finish making the three little pigs a happy home. I was so grateful that our oldest was home. It was dark when we got done with catching the pigs. By the time we got home we were very tired. He came out to the pens and helped. We got every thing done fast with his help.

So we go inside. My husband decides he is going to do laundry. Um ok I say. We sit down on the couch. Me with my crocheting, he with his new tool set. He has been drooling over this tool set for some time. I was thinking father’s day. We walked past it too many times today. It ended up in out cart. Our oldest says Dad the toilet is over flowing. Nope. It was the washer. Thank goodness my husband cleans carpets for a living. While he was figuring out what the problem was our oldest son was sucking up the water with the hoses. My husband moves all the appliances to clean up the water. Installs fans to dry the wood. He was unsure what the problem was. The water came out from inside the washer. So they drained the water and started over watching it. They did this three times. I am thinking water, water, water. His laundry would have waited. I think he was trying to be helpful. He He.

I am exhausted so I go to bed. What an emotional, whirlwind kind of day.

No News Today

Saturday was not very productive.  I went to work, went to a birthday party, and then went home.  No news today.

Frantic Friday

I have received a request for the recipe I use for hamburger and hot dog buns. The link I used was www.kingarthurflour.com
The recipe is called beautiful burger buns.
Ingredients
¾ to 1 C lukewarm water
1 large egg (I used a duck egg)
3 ½ C flour (recipe calls for King Arthur flour, I used Kroger flour)
¼ C sugar
1 ¼ tsp. salt
1 Tbsp. instant yeast
Topping
3 Tbsp. melted butter
Directions

1. Mix and knead all of the dough ingredients- by hand, mixer, or bread machine (I used a bread machine)- to make a soft, smooth dough.
2. Cover the dough, and let it rise for 1 to 2 hours, or until its nearly doubled.
3. Gently deflate the dough, and divide it into 8 pieces. Shape each piece into a round ball; flatten to about 3" across. Place the buns on a lightly greased or parchment-lined baking sheet, cover, and let rise for about an hour, until noticeably puffy.
4. Brush the buns with about half of the melted butter.
5. Bake the buns in a preheated 375-degree oven for 15 to 18 minutes, until golden. Remove them from the oven, and brush with the remaining melted butter. This will give the buns a satiny, buttery crust.
6. Cool the buns on a rack.

Yield: 8large buns.
How I do it
I put all ingredients into my bread machine set it to knead. The machine does all the work. When the machine is done I remove dough. I separate the dough into 16 pieces. I round 8 (hamburger buns) and rolled 8 (hot dog buns). I baked according to directions. After last buttering I sprinkled crushed onion flakes on top of hamburger buns.


I have started to create an Etsy shop. My sister, who lives in the north, reminded me of my goal. My goal, well I have several, is to create an Etsy shop and start moving my craft items this year. Every year I say I will but just don’t. Because I can not sit still crocheting keeps me busy. When I find something I like I make many of them. Usually I see something and can create my own pattern. People at my work place have bought several items. This gave me the idea that I can create a shop and sell there too. I will keep you posted on that. The process seems easy enough.

Today was Payday Friday.  This is the day I run around doing all the errands.  Today I went to Pet's Mart.  I bought Stretch, the turtle a  new filter pump.  It serves two purposes.  It is a pump and it is a baking mountain at the same time.



On my way to work I stopped at McDonald's  and bought a Shamrock shake.  This is seasonal so I am not sure how long they will have it.  I just had to have one before it was to late.

Thankful Thursday

I am thankful for garden shoes. I have a need to check on things outside several times throughout the day. These shoes allow me to just slip them on and out I go. I refuse to pay more than $10 for these. You would think the price on such a useful item would not mater. I can find them at Big Lots. They are not name brand. I suppose if push came to shove I could break down and buy crocs, the true form of the garden shoe.

I am thankful for cotton dishcloths. I can create them under an hour. They can be thrown in the washer repeatedly and always come out fluffy soft. Well not teddy bear soft, but you know what I mean. I buy the cotton yarn from Walmart and the colors stay true. If I get sick of one color I can crochet another in no time flat. Maybe I will make a how to post about crocheting a dishcloth.

I am thankful for goldfish. Not the real, breathing goldfish. The yummy, cheddar goldfish. You can pop them into tomato soup. They float around until you can catch them and gobble them up. I can confess I have a hard time eating tomato soup without them.