Rambling Thoughts

• As expected, we have a blanket of snow covering the ground. Good-bye pretty Spring-like temperatures, welcome back cold weather!




• The chickens aren't happy about that. Makes it harder for the girls to avoid the horny roosters. Time to sharpen the axe next time it warms up again.




• The house is nice and warm, thanks to the recent splitting of wood by Andrew.




• Funny how when one is down to the last of the wood, the cold becomes acceptable, but when one knows there is wood to be burned, the shivering becomes unbearable.




• A Buff hen has been sitting on eggs for about 10 days now. I've numbered 6 eggs, made sure they were all rounded and not pointy and check her frequently to make sure she is still setting on them. I read somewhere that rounded eggs are more likely to be female and the pointy ones tend to be male. I'm testing that theory and hoping for more hens not roosters.




• I've discovered my yeast has gone bad. I made roast beef tonight and was going to pair it with french bread- yum! While letting it rest for an hour to rise, I noticed there was hardly any air in the dough. I kneaded it again and shaped it, hoped for the best and let it rest again, but no go. I baked it anyway, figuring I can at least chop it up for the chickens if it's too dense. It rose a little bit in the oven, but yeah, it's going to the chickens in the morning. No more bulk purchases of yeast for me-- I don't bake bread often enough to use it up fast enough.



• I've recently discovered Lindt chocolate truffles. What have I been missing?!? I snagged a bunch of them on clearance after Valentine's day and each one is a bite of heaven! Even the dark chocolate ones are yummy, but my favorite is the white chocolate with bits of cocoa studded in the shell.



• Has anyone seen the A-Team movie? How amazing is it that Liam Neeson looks like George Peppard?? I never would have picked Liam to play George, but he pulled it off! I used to watch the TV show with my Dad back in the 80s. Might have to get the series on DVD...



• Any Coca-Cola drinkers out there? Did you know if you register with Coke, you can collect points from inside the caps and boxes and then get things with those points? I've been cashing in points for free magazine subscriptions! I picked up Popular Mechanics, Country Living, and Better Homes & Gardens so far. We take the magazines to waiting rooms when we're done with them.

• One of the nice things about canning your own food is seeing the empty jars pile up on the counter. I like washing them and then setting them aside to be taken downstairs and sorted by size in different boxes. It makes me feel good inside. I look forward to canning season and filling up those empty jars again.

• I recently went to one of those warehouse-type stores with a friend who is a member. We used to shop there often, then stopped when money got tight and we couldn't afford the membership or buying in bulk and paying bulk prices. I checked and compared prices and I found it very hard to find anything that I couldn't get cheaper with coupons-- with the exception of spices. I ended up getting only spices and spent much less than I expected to. No more wishing I could shop there again and would be content with getting invited to go along once in awhile just for getting spices.

• I have a hankering for pumpkin pie. I think I'll make pumpkin pie tomorrow.