Second Week of Fall Break, Hunting, Thanksgiving Nov. 19-25, 2017

Second Week of Fall Break, Hunting, Thanksgiving 

Nov. 19-25, 2017

Giz and Grampy at the Thanksgiving table!

Hello, Friends!

Hunting season and visiting family in Indiana were our top priorities of the week.  Dh and Dd drove down to Indiana on Friday (11-17-17), but I didn't join them until Wednesday (11-22-17).  I had a medical appointment on Tuesday, so I stayed in Michigan with the chickens and kitties.  

Once a year Dh deer hunts with his best friend on our family farm; he usually gets one deer and this year fell into the normal pattern--though he didn't get it until Friday (11-24-17).  Normally, the first weekend of hunting season is when they are most likely to see deer, but the weather must have caused the deer to bed down.

The weather in both Indiana and Michigan were so warm and rainy that Dh's hunting wasn't favored; he didn't see deer for the first two or three days!  



Whereas I was able to put my laundry out on the line to dry in the 50-60 degree weather, which is so unexpected at the end of November in Michigan!  

In Michigan, with Dh and Dd out, I was able to pull out all the little Christmas gifts I'd been hiding in my closet and wrap, wrap, wrap their gifts.  It was nice having the whole living room to spread out and organize what I had been collecting without the fear of being seen.  It always amazes me just how long it takes to wrap gifts.

Dickens in farmhouse...looking SO big!

Tuesday was as warm as Mondy and I was able to work outside on building a better tunnel for the chickens.  The doorway/tunnel/entrance from the inside coop to the outside caged-in coop needed more of a wrap-around tunnel to prevent the cold wind from flowing straight inside their inside coop.  I like to keep their inside coop as dry and warm as possible.  I found scrap plywood to build up a wall to make the hole less open for wind and rain.  Then I cut open the big plastic bags the feed comes in to use as a cheap wrap.  I'm so glad I *finally* got that chore done!  It had been on my to-do list for over a year!!!

Carrie, the ailing Black Sex Link chicken/hen:

I continued to keep Carrie inside with me, in Sophie's old metal dog crate until Wednesday. 



 She seemed to improve a little.  I put her back with the flock before I left for Indiana.  I gave her warm baths in the kitchen sink each day.  

I can feel an egg, but she never laid an egg while I kept her inside.

She handled the attention very well, though I don't really know if I really helped any.

Monday and Tuesday Dd spent time with Giz (G'ma) and her two young cousins-"N" and "C."  They worked on art projects for future Christmas presents.  Dd just loves spending time with these two feisty girls; aged around 5 and 3 years old.  

Honeysuckle in farmhouse

Clay Pigeons:

Dh and Dd bought clay pigeons to practice their shooting; apparently, Dd was quite the shooter!  I hear she did very well!

Migraines:

I woke up Wednesday with a migraine, on the very day I was supposed to drive the seven hours south.  My packing took forever and I couldn't get myself out the door until around 1pm, so I was in rush hour traffic in Indy; which made for hours of stop-and-go traffic and bottlenecks.  I think I passed by four or five accidents on the way which also caused a very SLOW drive.  I was thoroughly frustrated most of the drive.  To make matters worse  I had to bring the two kittens down with me and they whined and meowed the whole way; which did nothing for my poor head!  Then on Thursday, I woke up with a new migraine.  I was thankful for a quiet small group of just us five for Thanksgiving.

HIDA Scan:

Further testing to figure out what is wrong with my digestion lead to my gastroenterologist to order a scan to see how my gallbladder and liver are performing.  Monday I drove to the hospital to make sure I knew where I would be going on Tuesday and familiarize myself with the area; which I call my "dry-run."  Tuesday I found my way without any trouble!  The scan took about 2:30 hours, but was easy and pain-free for me.  Apparently, my gallbladder is not working well, not "emptying;" on top of the gallstones, resulting in me being referred to a surgeon to consult in January.  I am curious what he will suggest, with one option being the removal of my gallbladder.  I have some time to think over the possibilities for the next month.

Thanksgiving:

Lobsters and clam chowder are our one annual big splurge as we celebrate a New England Thanksgiving!  Dh orders our meal from Maine each year and we happily enjoy every bite!  The company didn't have any of the bigger lobsters so we had to settle on some rather small ones; which were wonderful.  We were thankful for another special holiday with Dh's parents.  I suggested Giz make a Pecan Pie for our dessert, and it was so sweet and yummy!

After Thanksgiving:

Dh and Dd continued their woods/hunting and I spent two days getting over my migraines and sewing my Christmas felt birds and stuffing them with lavender.  Giz and Grampy get the Hallmark Christmas channel, which we had when we were in the apartment in Grand Rapids, and I found fun to watch.  So, I sewed and enjoyed some rest.

Giz's Christmas decorations up:



The three of us ladies worked together to get all of Giz's decorations and tree down from the attic and put in place.

Saxon Geometry Math :
Lessons 40 and 41

Fun Reading:
The Unlikely Hero of Room 13B by Teresa Toten



Dd still had math assignments and music lessons to work on while on her vacation.




On Saturday, Dh's hunting friend offered to sell his extra hunting crossbow for a good price.  Dh had told him that he had been looking to buy a crossbow so he could hunt longer during hunting season.  Dh really liked his bow and they agreed on a price and made the deal.  

Squirrel Hunting:

Dd has been asking to hunt deer with Dh, so he wanted to see if she truly has the steely heart for such activities, one good way to see if she was sincere was to take her out squirrel hunting.  Surprisingly, Dd took to hunting without any hesitation.  Dd is so much like Dh, they are truly cut from the same cloth.  I guess we will have two hunters in our home!

Sunday we packed our things, ate lunch with G, G, and Uncle Bob before heading on the road and back to our Michigan home.

We have such beautiful mullenstocks all around our farmhouse in Indiana.  They are just so pretty and soft!

A few pictures of the family farm in Indiana:

Dh and I planted all these trees years ago and love seeing how big they are now.  Many have died or been cut down, but we love seeing the remaining trees.

This Catalpa tree was rubbed by deer when it was so small, I kept having to wrap it in clear tape to try and keep it intake.  Now it is so big and sturdy, after such a difficult first year.

The fields are still full of corn to harvest.

Check out this green vibrant grass in Indiana!  It looks like it is still August there!

These trees had an abundance of TREE-EARS!

You can see the old OUTHOUSE still there!

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