Friday Update

Look!

I got 4 jars of cranberries out of the

freeze dryer. 

Aren't they pretty?

They are (as always) MUCH prettier in person.

And tasty too!

I also got 4 jars of good, thick

spaghetti sauce.

I let it simmer on the stove for a couple

of hours while I was out at the farm.

I had an hour and a half zoom with the

RS Presidency, and did a little work in

the garden, started getting the old tomato

plants off the cattle panels.

I finished that today.

Anyhow,

I hope the sauce is yummy.

It sure smelled good, but I was running

short on time and needed to hurry and

get it in the pressure canner so it would be done.

Then I pulled out another pressuer

COOKER and put a pork roast in for dinner.

Today I went out to the farm and

finished the rest of the tomatoes.

I still need to do something with the okra

and the things on the tunnels, but I needed

to get back home to teach.

AND it was HOT out there!

Yup, it's TINY, but it actually says

EIGHTY SIX DEGREES!

On November 14.

Of course, winter is arriving NEXT week,

while Jim is here helping with the house build.

Sigh.

But goodness gracious!

It was quite toasty out there.

This is a terrible picture, but I was tired and didn't

want to get back out of my car, so I took it

out the window.

The guys are getting all the floor joists trimmed to

the right size and screwed in place!

(They add 5 inches of "trimmable" to each joist,

just in case you need it...)

Next up?

Floor boards!

It's so exciting seeing not only how big

it really is, but also where it is going

to actually BE on the property.

It was hard to tell with it just being a

big ol' hole in the ground with dirt piled all

around it.

But now I can imagine standing in my bedroom

and gazing out the windows at the woods

next to the house.

I'm so excited!

Ok, I better go eat some dinner.

And get to bed.

Another day tomorrow......

and lots to get done.

Happy Weekend!

Tomato (and Cranberry) Day

 Today is TOMATO and Cranberry DAY!

I'm finally going to process

those tomatoes that have been

sitting on the washer/dryer

for a couple of weeks.

There are still a few that aren't

ripe, but I'm done waiting.

I started by trimming and cutting

all of those tomatoes.

Filled my biggest dough bowl.

Ran them through the food processor.

I did a round using the dicer.

But decided the result was just as good

and the mess was WAAY less

if I just pureed them with the S blade.

Then I pushed them through a fine mesh

sieve and got "most" of the juice out

and was left with lots of "guts".

Ended up with a nice pot of juice

on the stove simmering down.

I sauted some onions and put in some

of the peppers I froze before.

Added a BUNCH of seasonings and

about a third cup of brown sugar.

WHY does processing food

make such a huge mess?????

But it's all cleaned up now.

It felt like it took forever,

but actually only barely 2 hours.

There's a bag of yummy treats for the pigs.

I'm going to add them to the box

of pumpkins and head out to the farm.

They are delivering our wood order.

I'll probably miss the delivery,

they are probably there now...

but I want to check on progress.

And then I'll come back and jar up

the spaghetti sauce and get it into

the pressure canner.

I also picked up 4 bags of cranberries

at the store on Tuesday.

So those went through the food processor

first with just a slicer blade.

They are in the freeze dryer.

Should be done sometime tomorrow.

YUM!

I also bought a bag of real oranges

and I'm going to try my hand at

real cranberry sauce.

Although I'm a fan of the jellied

stuff that looks like the can

when it comes out.

Soni suggested I put some orange zest

in my bread when I make it with 

cranberries and pecans.

So... a bag of oranges it is!

(They didn't have any singles...)

Ok.

Got to run!!!!

Happy... Thursday?

Sheesh.

Guess Where We Were Today?

 Yup.

Menards!!!

This time in Garden City.

Which is just over 2 hours south of us.

It's actually a much nicer drive

than the drive to Salina.

But, weirdly, some of their prices

are actually HIGHER.

Even though its the same company.

I know, right?

But it's a prettier drive, 

on 2-lane country highway.

The drive to Salina is all 4 lane and

although the scenery is just as pretty...

it's just not as fun.

Anyhow.

We needed to run down there for 

Rod's checkup for glaucoma.

The Dr. said his eyes look just the

same as they did in February.

So GOOD NEWS!!!

We were in and out in about 15 minutes.

So, we headed over to Menards to

pick up some more stuff for the house.

Ended up having to special order and

wait for it to be shipped.

Oh well.

Sometimes we also go to Sams,

but I needed to get home to rest and

then teach class,

and we were just there yesterday.

So.

Another BUSY DAY!

Tomorrow we get our wood order delivered.

And I need to make something with all

those tomatoes.

(When I walk by, I can SMELL tomato,

which means some of them are RIPE.)

I'm going to break out the food processor and

just dice them. Then I'll run them through

the fine mesh sieve and get rid of the skins

and the seeds, and then I'll probably 

add spices and simmer it for spaghetti sauce.

And then I'll can it later in the evening.

Plus I want to be there when the wood gets there.

And I need to bring the pumpkins to the pigs.

And see my son.

And my dog.

And I need PICTURES of any progress.

The guys have mostly been working on

Kyle's water, he NEEDS water and now

that it's getting colder at night, it's gotten

to a more urgent level.

So that's been a focus.

Anyhow.

I'm done and heading to unwind for a minute

(which means watch an episode of JAG)

and then off to bed.

NIGHT!

Menards

It was another BUSY day.

So... when last I left you,

the store got our building material,

but they couldn't get a 40' trailer to 

deliver it to us until after Thanksgiving.

NOPE!

So... Kyle and I loaded up the big trailer,

and a saw, and headed to Salina.

When we got there, they had everything in

a lovely pile for us.

So Kyle plugged his saw into his 100'

extension chord and cut each of the boards

in half!

That's the rest of our load in the background.

And then he and I loaded them onto his trailer.

These are the "rim" boards that go around

the base of the foundation, and one 36'

that runs down the center.

They will rest the floor joists on those.

We bought 40 metal plates to screw into them

where we cut them to turn them into one

giant board again.

All the rest of our order was stacked

neatly next to our floor boards.

It will be loaded on a truck and

delivered to us on Thursday.

Phew!

Crisis averted.

After we finished at Menards, we drove

over to Sams Club and wandered around.

We saw lots of fun things, but only

bought some chocolate milk powder

and some Kinder seasoning.

(And some raspberries...)

And then to Braums,

because you can't drive to Salina

and NOT eat at Braums.

It was delicious, as always.

Then back on the road, with a 

quick stop in Hays at the Tractor Supply

to get an "in tank heater" for the chicken's

water tank so it doesn't freeze solid again.

And then to WalMart for some groceries,

more fleece lined jeans for Kyle, Rod and Jim.

And some sweat pants for Rod and I.

And a sweat shirt, that I PUT ON in the store,

because I was FREEZING!

It was in the 70's all day.

But by the time we got to Hays,

it was long dark and only in the 50's.

I looked cute, but not warm.

Once we pulled up in front of the house,

Rod popped out and we got all our

stuff out of the truck so Kyle could

finally head home and feed the dogs.

But he called about 2 minutes later and

said to jump in the truck and head to the

edge of town.

The northern lights were shining brightly!

So we did!

He met us out there.

It was BEAUTIFUL!

All green and pink and gorgeous!

He took a picture and promised to

send it to me, but he hasn't yet,

so I'll put it on another blog post.

Tomorrow morning Rod and I are

getting up and heading south to Garden City

to see his eye doctor for his 6-month checkup.

And then we need to get back to town

since I need to teach in the evening.

So.

Let the great house build begin!!!!!

Pumpkin Processing Day

 It was C O L D last night!

17 when we woke up!

(And colder at the farm....)

BTW, Kyle gave the new

fleece lined jeans a 

"two thumbs up" when

he wore them out to feed the pigs.

And tomorrow the high will

be 71!!!!!

Welcome to Kansas. 

Hahahaha.

Anyhow.

I brought all the little sugar baby

pumpkins in off the porch last night

so they wouldn't freeze.

And this morning they are going

in the oven, and then the food processor.

(I'll skin and de-seed them first...)

Aren't they pretty?

Yes, I know.

One of these is not like the other.

He's dinner tonight.

Speaking of dinner, I opened two

jars of my spaghetti and meat

sauce last night.

Added a little more Italian Seasoning,

a little brown sugar, and a couple

tablespoons of my tomato powder

(freeze dried tomatoes from last year).

It was YUMMY!

And SOOOO easy!

I can't wait for next harvest season!

Speaking of spaghetti sauce.

I'm nearly ready to make another batch.

A few more days and all the ones that are

going to get ripe, will be ripe.

And then, into the pot they go!

It's a lot of work.

But so satisfying!

Update... Grrrrrrrr

 So, yeah.

The wood order ARRIVED in Salina

at the Menard's store.

But it's not being delivered to US

until NEXT THURSDAY!!!!!

Grrrrr.

It is what it is and there's nothing

we can do about it.

They only have a truck driver two

days a week and he already has a

big load on Monday.

So Thursday it is.

Which would be fine,

except Jim is coming the following 

Tuesday night! (Late, so Tuesday 

doesn't count...)

But, Kyle will make it work.

We might not get the roof all done,

but we will do what we can.

Meanwhile.

Update: I froze the onions. I'll probably

put some of them in the freeze dryer later,

but we will see. I kind of like them both ways.

And I saw a cute pattern on the interwebs.

So I crocheted myself a touque!

It's a bit looser than I want, so I might

unsew it and make it smaller.

Or I might not.

I'll probably make a salmon colored one now,

since I have lots of that yarn leftover.

And I'll make that one a little smaller.

Anyhow.

It's winter.

The windchill on Sunday morning is going to be 8.

That's COLD in anybody's book.

But somehow my lilacs didn't get the memo.

So I went out and picked some more yesterday.

(It's only that one day though, by Tuesday

it will be back in the 70's.... just a little

pre-season teaser...)

Kyle said the pigs LOVED the cherry 

tomatoes we gave them, so I'm going

to just pull the plants in my raised bed

and toss the whole thing over their fence.

Last night I made Nancy's pumpkin soup

for dinner. It was YUMMY!!!

I used fake maple syrup since it's what I have.

Kyle has real, but I wasn't driving back

to the farm for a half cup of syrup.

And I used dried herbs instead of fresh.

I only have fresh basil, rosemary, and chives.

Oh, and cilantro.

Today I'm going out to the yard and 

trimming ALL the herb plants and

doing an herb run in the freeze dryer.

I love freeze dried herbs.

We also have some regular mint,

some apple mint,

and more lemon balm.

I expected the cilantro to self-seed again

in the raised bed, but nothing.

And then I noticed a big patch of it

across the yard by the mint!

That's WEIRD!

But I'll take it!

Nobody likes it but me...

but I love it.

Anyhow.

I'm in soup / chili / stew mode.

So tonight I'll probably make a batch of

loaded potato soup for Rod to eat when

he gets home from the farm.

(I'll have a bowl before I start teaching.)

I'm trying to eat BEFORE class and NOT AFTER.

That's just too late at night to have a 

big ol' dinner.

Anyhow.

I am teaching the weekend class this weekend,

so I will miss Relief Society.

The Stake is coming to Teach us to Teach.

I'm sad to miss that!

Also we are practicing #1203

What Child Is This

to sing in the Christmas Sacrament Mtg.

And it's Linger Longer.

Pot luck.

I'll make.... something, and 

send it with Rod.

Anyhow.

I'm going to go crochet for a minute.

I'm doing a 16 hour fast, so no breakfast

until 11:00.

But that's when I usually eat anyway,

so no biggie.

I'm going to make some dandelion tea though.

Its chilly in the house and a good

hot mug of tea sounds yummy.

(I'll turn up the heat when I walk out to the

living room, we used the heat all last month

overnight and my power bill went DOWN.)

Natural gas is CHEAP.(ish)

Ok.

Bye.

Onions

 I was too busy to go to the farm today.

But Kyle sent pictures, so 

stay tuned for an update.

Meanwhile....

I was BUSY!

Started the day with a workout,

a shower, dishes,

laundry,

and then...

ONIONS.

(I forgot to take a picture before

I got started...)

But trust me, there were a LOT.

(A whole milk crate FULL...)

This was less than 1/4 of them.

Unfortunately, some of them had

gone bad in the center.

I started by trying to salvage every little

bit that I could, even if it was only

one layer.

But then I decided that was ridiculous.

Onions at the store are pretty cheap.

Is it wonderful to have our own?

You bet!

But... if we run out, I'll just buy some.

(And next year, since I will be there at

the farm, it will be easier to process them

right away. They were hanging in Kyle's shed,

and honestly, I forgot about them!)

Anyhow.

There was a LOT.

I ran them through my little chopper thing.

You cut off both ends,

peel them, and then put them

in the chopper and SMACK it with your hand.

(Yes, my hand is a bit sore tonight...)

Anyhow.

We ended up with TWELVE full 

quart bags of chopped / diced onions.

My hands smell great.

Hahahaha.

Then I tossed some in a pan with

some ground beef, some beans,

some tomatoes, and some spices

and made a big ol' pot of chili.

It's simmering on the stove.

Cuz then I had to come into my office

and teach my Wed night class.

But I'm finished now.

And I'm going to go eat a bowl

of chili and eat a slice of 

cheese bread.

And wait for Rod to get home from Mutual.

(And a "short" Bishopric meeting...)

Hope there's some chili left.

(kidding...)

Oh!

And the update!

The hole in the ground is GINORMOUS!

And the house foundation is

now FULL of compacted dirt 

level with the existing ground.

AMAZING JOB GUYS!!!!!

I'm so impressed!!!!

I believe the delivery is coming from

Menard's tomorrow sometime.

(Floor trusses, walls, roof, siding, etc.)

(We already have all the windows and doors.)

So, I'm going to go to the farm and

work on digging the sweet potatoes

and be there when the delivery arrives.

I'm EXCITED!!!!!

But now....

dinner and BED.