We had a good old fashion Thanksgiving today. What made us so proud is almost everything we served at lunch today was raised and grown here.
Papa Bear butchered two Roosters that was roasted. They were a little tough but edible. The collards, squash and peas were vegetables we had put up through the season. Sweet potatoes were given to us by a neighbor and Mom brought potatoes to make mashed potatoes. Another neighbor gave us fresh grapefruit and lemons from their trees so I made a pitcher of lemon aid to serve with lunch and grapefruit bars for dessert. A truly old fashion Thanksgiving. We gave thanks for all of our survival bounty!
So many bloggers have wrote things better than I, so I will just say I am so proud to be from a military family and especially proud of my 2 sons who served and my baby brother who is retiring as a major next month.
I planted a row of Collards a couple of weeks ago using some heirloom seed that I purchased in early spring. Only a few have come up and seem to be just sitting there and not growing. Being an extreme patient person, I jumped into the truck and went to the feed and seed and bought two six packs of some nice Georgia Collard plants. I also got two six packs of Brussel Sprouts. All of these are safely tucked into the garden in between the little seedlings that are just sitting. The good Lord also gave them some rain this afternoon. Instant Gratification seeing a row or two of green!
Now I m dreaming of a pot of fresh collards and a pan of corn bread. (Can you tell I'm a southern girl?)
This morning my Mom and I cleaned out a row in the garden and planted around 200 cloves of garlic. We planted in an area that I had been dumping goat poop, egg shells and coffee grounds, so it should be some nice ground in our poor soil. While we were planting a couple of the small chicks escaped their pen and tried to peck at the garlic so I had to stop and chase chicks before they discovered they liked it. I threatened to have some "small Cornish hens" on the grill if they got in it again. I'm sure they listened....LOL Papa Bear thinks he has the hole in the fence repaired for now.
I have no idea what the garlic is other than it is softneck. I waited too late to order seed garlic and most everything I wanted was sold out or too expensive. I ended up ordering a 5 pound braided doodad from California which I understand is basically what is sold in the produce section of the grocery stores in those little two pack boxes. I'll share some with the neighbors and what is left I will peel and put in the freezer for cooking.
Papa Bear has sprayed the surrounding ground to get rid of the ants so now I am off to sprinkle a little fertilizer and cover the area in hay. Can't wait to see the little green sprouts.
We are having our first cold weather beginning tonight. It is supposed to get into the 30's. I know some of you will laugh at this but I am a cold weather wimp!
We took the kids away from the doe this week. Now I am having reservations because of the cold but I know it is something I had to do if we plan on having fresh milk. The kids are not drinking that much from the bottle but they are nibbling fresh hay and grain pretty good. I am still amazed at how fast they grow. They will be three weeks old tomorrow. I am milking twice a day and getting a little over 2 quarts for the day. I don't know if this is good or not but I am pleased.
Last week I took a neighbor who was having stomach issues to one of our local ER's. I haven't really kept up with the H1N1 flu virus as the jury is still out on if it is hoax or not by our dear government but that is another subject.
We arrived at the ER around 10:AM or so. The waiting room was full of people and probably about 2/3's of them were bundled under blankets and were wearing mask. Every few minutes a nurse would come out and announce if anyone had cold or flu symptoms to please go to the window and get a mask.
I was a little surprised to see so many infants in the ER as by this time I am sure Pediatrician offices were open. Many of the people waiting were in their Military uniforms so it wasn't for lack of insurance that they were in the ER. As more and more people came in I became a little concerned about carrying a bug back home to my family. I was very careful not to touch any parts of my face while there. When I went outside to talk on the cell phone I made sure to hit the hand sanitizer on the side of the wall before I went out. The doors were automatic so I did not have to worry about pushing the door open with my side so I wouldn't have to use my hands.
My son's doctor had talked to us a few weeks ago about the vaccines. We told him that we had decided that we were not going to take them and that we were prepared to quarantine ourselves in our home if necessary. He reminded us again the importance of hand washing and not touching your face while in public. If people would remember this, we would cut down on a lot of the bugs that we tend to pick up. The doctor also told me not to place my purse in the grocery cart where a child normally sits. He said over half the time a child who is sick and or had diarrhea was just sitting there prior to my using it. I had never even thought of this. A lot of the stores now offer sanitary wipes where you get your cart so I get one, wipe the handle and seat area down before I use it.
If you live in Florida, you can go here and check out the flu in your area. Our county has only had one hospitalization in the past week so I guess all the people I saw in the ER were just checked out and sent home with meds. Some of our family in Kentucky has already had the swine flu. My nieces temperature got really high and I ask my sister to try the egg whites on the bottom of her feet and I am happy to report that it brought her fever down. This was great to know. For those of you who don't know about this, you take an egg white and mix it up a little in a bowl. Take a paper towel or clean cloth and fold it to the width of your foot and soak in the egg white. Place the towel on the bottom of the foot and slip on a sock to hold in place. Reapply egg whites as it begins to dry. This is an old remedy that will be a fever down within 30 minutes to an hour.
I am glad we are preppers and stocked up on necessary items for most emergencies and we will be in the position to quarantine ourselves should it become necessary. Have you done anything today to prepare?
...or should I say kids! Got home from church yesterday, changed clothes and walked out to the goat shed and found the first one standing and almost dry. About an hour later out came her sister. They are cute as can be. The second one seemed a little weak this morning so I got our doe on the milk stand this morning and MILKED HER! I was so afraid after all of this I wouldn't be able to milk her but it was easy. I got the little one to take a small amount from the bottle but she wasn't too happy about it.
I am a wife, Mom and Grandma searching for ways to protect our family from the rapidly changing world crisis.
My husband and I take care of our son who was severely injured 14 years ago by a drunk driver while on active duty in the Marine Corps.
We live in the country on 10 acres of land and trying to become as self sufficient as possible.
