Oct. 21-27, 2018
G&G Visit, Van Fixed (Again), Manure, Plastic Wrap Run
With Giz and Grampy (Dh's parents) due to arrive on Wed., I tried to get as much house tidying as I could. Dd worked super hard to get as much of her Friday, Grace, homework done as she could. Unlike most visits, Dd had some things scheduled that she couldn't get out of doing, like her co-op classes and Harvest Party.
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| Giz and Grampy loved Henry! Yay! |
Giz & Food:
Giz always brings parts and pieces for her special meals, that I can't generally eat, so I baked two chickens and made an assortment of foods that I can eat. Due to my digestion issues I follow a strict FODMAP diet which is Gluten Free and Dairy Free. They arrived with a dozen fresh donuts from the nearby farm store that makes them fresh each day and a lemon cake and all sorts of chips...nothing like having every temptation possible that I'm not allowed to eat. It was really hard, but I really did a good job making myself some good things to distract me from all that.
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| This will be the "Before" picture |
Plastic Wrap: Chicken Run: Completed
It took hours and hours, but I got the whole run wrapped in tarp and plastic for the winter months.
I have absolutely NO idea how well it will hold up in the snowstorm that will soon be upon us in Michigan, but I have given it my best.
Since I haven't been able to pick greens for them any longer I have been letting them out in the bottom run to scratch and pick among those weeds and worms.
The amount of eggs we are bringing in each day has gone down a little bit.
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| You can see that it is only a small area that got wrapped; the entry into the downstairs barn where their coop, food, water, perches, and nest boxes are. |
I have absolutely NO idea how well it will hold up in the snowstorm that will soon be upon us in Michigan, but I have given it my best.
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| A view of the front of the inner sanctum |
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| A view of the back of the inner sanctum |
Since I haven't been able to pick greens for them any longer I have been letting them out in the bottom run to scratch and pick among those weeds and worms.
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| A view of the inside of the "inner sanctum" that is now mostly wrapped and ready for winter. |
The amount of eggs we are bringing in each day has gone down a little bit.
Hoop House Repair: Garden
I worked on the hoop houses, in the garden, this week and had to add some more plastic to cover the ends as I don't have the two side by side like we had in the spring. I'm curious to see how long things keep growing while in the hoop house and if we can really keep growing veg in the chilly months. We only built the hoop houses this spring to get a head start on growing since the season is much shorter in Michigan than it was in Indiana. Hope it can help in the fall and winter too...we'll see!
Herbs:
I had hoped to dig up my beloved Basil before frost but I missed it and was too late. Luckily, the parsley and green chives didn't mind our first frosts and I dug them up and placed them in little or middle sized pots and brought them into our Sun Room. Now our Sun Room is full of all our outdoor plants, garden herbs, and many containers of green tomatoes, green beans, and tomatillo's!
Thyme and Sage Butter:
I did make four sticks of herb butter this week from the herbs that are still doing well in the colder temps. I love putting sage and thyme (and basil) under the skin on baked chicken, so I picked lots of sage and thyme, chopped them up tiny and stirred them into room temperature butter, rolled into logs, wrapped in freezer paper, put in freezer ziplocks for the upcoming months.
Canning:
On Thursday, Giz helped me cut up and prepare veg for canning. We made a fun mix of tomatoes and tomatillo's together for salsa. Dh used some of our mix and made some salsa by adding cilantro, lemon juice, and salt. Giz and I made 10 new pints.
Van:
Grampy and Dh worked hard and fixed the van!!!! Boy, I was really worried the job might be more than they could handle, but it worked out! Praise the Lord! They wrapped up the project on Friday night, after working on it a few days, and Grampy admitted he had been fighting reflux and heartburn all that day and couldn't eat his dinner. In all his 83 years he had never had heartburn before.
That threw us all into a tizzy and I kept bringing him little cups of water and baking soda to drink. Fortunately, he felt normal by the morning. But, if you had only seen him working on the van like he was a young lad you would know why we worry so. So THANKFUL the van is fixed and maybe, just maybe, Dh won't have to work on it in the snow. I really pray the 3/4 working auto's stay working for the harshest winter months.
Manure:
Dh and Dd, fresh off the success from fixing the van, decided to get a load of manure from a church friend that is a Dairy Farmer. The guys got a bit of a tour of the farm before bringing the manure home to unload. We didn't get any manure this last spring so I was so glad to see a bit come our way as it will surely help me grow better veg next year.
Fall Chores:
I finally dug up the carrots, having had quite a few night frosts to help the carrots sweeten. I had planted them in a different location in our garden this year and apparently, they didn't like the new location as well. This year they were short and stumpy. It looks like the ground was too hard for them to grow down? Next year I will have to go back to the sandy loose dirt garden area where they can easily develop. I also cleaned out the gutters again this fall; that is twice I've cleaned out the pine needles already! That is one of the drawbacks to living in the woods.
Honeysuckle:
What a week we had with our sweet Honeysuckle kitty. She had started peeing next to the litter box, on the floor, leaving a small pink puddle. I could see the urine had blood in it and ended up taking her into the vet on Wednesday. Then I had to return home, with her, and devise a method of "collecting her urine" for a sample to deliver back to the vet. Two hours later I was back at the vet for a second time to deliver the sample in a syringe. Two hours later I was back getting the diagnosis---Anxiety! Can you believe it?! They sent me home with Amitriptyline for her. I couldn't get the pill down her throat for the life of me, so Thursday I had Dd go back to the vet (the fourth visit in 24 hours for those of you counting) for their spring-loaded pill gun thingy. Each time I gave her a pill she frothed at the mouth and each day grew worse and worse. After four days of growing saliva and mucus, I decided we would isolate her whenever she was getting anxious again. The vet thought it was our pup, Henry, but I know it is her brother cat, Dickens, that causes all the strife around the house. We have a spare bedroom that Honeysuckle loves and we will put her in there on his bad days.
Giz and Grampy's Visit Overview:
Well. Giz's health has really been awful lately, she's probably lost a good fifty pounds. It has been a year since the doctor "fixed" the duct that drained her liver and it has been almost as bad as the year before the "miraculous" surgery. She looks so frail and thin; her face is so changed. Grampy looks the same, but you can just tell in how he does everything that this year has been so hard on him too. This was such a different visit than usual. Giz has a MRI in a few days to make the obvious assessment that the new duct they made as not working official. It is hard for them and for us---but, we did enjoy playing fun card games (UNO and Skip-Bo) every night but the last, as Dd was out at a Harvest Party with our church's Youth Program. I should have made Dd stay home and spend the last night with G & G, but I didn't realize until it was too late. It was hard to see them struggling and not be able to help.
Hunting:
Dd and Dh are getting ready for hunting season. They have been shooting the cross bow. They got a chuckle out of this arrow, maybe called a 'bolt?' went through a branch. So glad they don't have to rely on me regarding providing meat---I'll stick with fruit and veg contributions.
Thyme and Sage Butter:
I did make four sticks of herb butter this week from the herbs that are still doing well in the colder temps. I love putting sage and thyme (and basil) under the skin on baked chicken, so I picked lots of sage and thyme, chopped them up tiny and stirred them into room temperature butter, rolled into logs, wrapped in freezer paper, put in freezer ziplocks for the upcoming months.
Canning:
On Thursday, Giz helped me cut up and prepare veg for canning. We made a fun mix of tomatoes and tomatillo's together for salsa. Dh used some of our mix and made some salsa by adding cilantro, lemon juice, and salt. Giz and I made 10 new pints.
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| Grampy (83 years old) working on our van. |
Van:
Grampy and Dh worked hard and fixed the van!!!! Boy, I was really worried the job might be more than they could handle, but it worked out! Praise the Lord! They wrapped up the project on Friday night, after working on it a few days, and Grampy admitted he had been fighting reflux and heartburn all that day and couldn't eat his dinner. In all his 83 years he had never had heartburn before.
That threw us all into a tizzy and I kept bringing him little cups of water and baking soda to drink. Fortunately, he felt normal by the morning. But, if you had only seen him working on the van like he was a young lad you would know why we worry so. So THANKFUL the van is fixed and maybe, just maybe, Dh won't have to work on it in the snow. I really pray the 3/4 working auto's stay working for the harshest winter months.
 |
| We mixed the new manure with some of our used straw from the chicken coop. It will work well for our garden next year. |
Manure:
Dh and Dd, fresh off the success from fixing the van, decided to get a load of manure from a church friend that is a Dairy Farmer. The guys got a bit of a tour of the farm before bringing the manure home to unload. We didn't get any manure this last spring so I was so glad to see a bit come our way as it will surely help me grow better veg next year.
 |
| We put a lot of the manure straight into some empty beds for next year. |
Fall Chores:
I finally dug up the carrots, having had quite a few night frosts to help the carrots sweeten. I had planted them in a different location in our garden this year and apparently, they didn't like the new location as well. This year they were short and stumpy. It looks like the ground was too hard for them to grow down? Next year I will have to go back to the sandy loose dirt garden area where they can easily develop. I also cleaned out the gutters again this fall; that is twice I've cleaned out the pine needles already! That is one of the drawbacks to living in the woods.
 |
| I finally dug up the carrots! Giz trimmed off the 'bad' parts and trimmed more than I would have--she's picky! |
Honeysuckle:
What a week we had with our sweet Honeysuckle kitty. She had started peeing next to the litter box, on the floor, leaving a small pink puddle. I could see the urine had blood in it and ended up taking her into the vet on Wednesday. Then I had to return home, with her, and devise a method of "collecting her urine" for a sample to deliver back to the vet. Two hours later I was back at the vet for a second time to deliver the sample in a syringe. Two hours later I was back getting the diagnosis---Anxiety! Can you believe it?! They sent me home with Amitriptyline for her. I couldn't get the pill down her throat for the life of me, so Thursday I had Dd go back to the vet (the fourth visit in 24 hours for those of you counting) for their spring-loaded pill gun thingy. Each time I gave her a pill she frothed at the mouth and each day grew worse and worse. After four days of growing saliva and mucus, I decided we would isolate her whenever she was getting anxious again. The vet thought it was our pup, Henry, but I know it is her brother cat, Dickens, that causes all the strife around the house. We have a spare bedroom that Honeysuckle loves and we will put her in there on his bad days.
Giz and Grampy's Visit Overview:
Well. Giz's health has really been awful lately, she's probably lost a good fifty pounds. It has been a year since the doctor "fixed" the duct that drained her liver and it has been almost as bad as the year before the "miraculous" surgery. She looks so frail and thin; her face is so changed. Grampy looks the same, but you can just tell in how he does everything that this year has been so hard on him too. This was such a different visit than usual. Giz has a MRI in a few days to make the obvious assessment that the new duct they made as not working official. It is hard for them and for us---but, we did enjoy playing fun card games (UNO and Skip-Bo) every night but the last, as Dd was out at a Harvest Party with our church's Youth Program. I should have made Dd stay home and spend the last night with G & G, but I didn't realize until it was too late. It was hard to see them struggling and not be able to help.
Hunting:
Dd and Dh are getting ready for hunting season. They have been shooting the cross bow. They got a chuckle out of this arrow, maybe called a 'bolt?' went through a branch. So glad they don't have to rely on me regarding providing meat---I'll stick with fruit and veg contributions.
Academics:
Bible:
Church, Sunday School, Youth Program
Soul Surfer Devotional
Word of Life Teen Devotional
(Dd has continued to do two bible studies each day)
Music:
Word of Life Teen Devotional
(Dd has continued to do two bible studies each day)
Music:
Dd played her guitar for G & G two times during their visit--maybe 30 minutes or so.
Audio:
The Grapes of Wrath by John Steinbeck
We are really struggling with this audio. There is a LOT of cussing and using the Lord's name in vain which seems to be around every corner where we are right now! I know this book is seen as one of the most important novels on "America" or I wouldn't keep trying to get us into it. It is a tough sell.....but, we keep plugging away at it a little at a time.
Audio:
The Grapes of Wrath by John Steinbeck
We are really struggling with this audio. There is a LOT of cussing and using the Lord's name in vain which seems to be around every corner where we are right now! I know this book is seen as one of the most important novels on "America" or I wouldn't keep trying to get us into it. It is a tough sell.....but, we keep plugging away at it a little at a time.
Grace Subjects:
Geography: BJU (Bob Jones Textbook)- loving and excelling
Algebra I: Saxon- going well
Spanish I- struggling
Graphic Design- going well
Introductory Logic- really struggling
Art: Water-coloring
Dd is doing a great job with her water-coloring. This week she did a painting of three pumpkins that I really liked.
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| Greens are still growing really well--no buggies to fight with in this weather!! You can see how nice this mornings Swiss Chard are in the photo. |
Physical Education:
Dd is doing a good job walking Henry each day and helping to tire him out so he can be sane for a couple of hours. Pups really need lots of exercise and it takes all three of us to get his willies out each day!!!
Volunteering:
Olympians Program, Games: 1 1/2 hours
Library: Family Story Time: 1 1/2 hours with kiddo's
Church: Dd spent 2:00 hours decorating the church and gym for the Missionary Thanksgiving party meal.
Next Week:
I've got various medical appointments scheduled and we will have to get back to life without G & G at our house again. It is always so quiet after they leave, and sad, we all have to adjust. They are the only family we see throughout the year, and we only see them every three months or so. Also, next week will be the first play practice for our church. I'm going to head up the behind the scene's team (team of one), as the director. So glad I can help and not have to memorize lines. Hoping Dh can get over his nagging, coughing cold soon too. His job is always very difficult and now his boss has put in his notice and will no longer be there to advocate for him, which is very unfortunate.
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