Winter is in the air

Winter is in the air this evening. We still have some rain falling and its quite chilly outside. Not that I have been out there much for the past few days. I have went as far as the front porch today. My surgery went well on my elbow but I am having a lot of pain. So with that I am taking a good deal of pain meds to help control that. So my days consist of sleeping and more sleeping. It will get better with some time and healing. I had doctors appointments for the 2 days prior to surgery. And at both facilities there were bunches of people there with the flu. At least 50% of the folks there had masks on. Not sure if it was for their own personal benefit or the benefit of others. The main stream media has caused so much un-necessary fear among people. This flu like all communicable illnesses can be halted by common sense cleanliness. But that's just my opinion.
I cant type long and use the right hand so this post will be short and sweet. Till next time, blessings from the McGuire homestead.

Stella

Am home after surgery

Well I have survived my elbow surgery and am home. Rob had me home by noon today, the surgery didn't take too long but the doc was late getting there due an auto collision in his neighborhood. I was still out of surgery by 9 am and on my way home by 10. I am doing OK, just having some pain and doc said I would have for several days. A friend is coming to sit with me tomorrow and hopefully after that I will be safe alone. I guess the meds they gave me in surgery are still making me a little dizzy when I stand. Am also starting to feel some pain and soreness all the way to my shoulder. I will survive this too I think.

I did have a nice surprise this evening when we fed my young pullets. One of them had laid their first egg. Yah for them. They are only 4 and 1/2 months old. So I am happy to know they will be laying good very soon. Now we need nest boxes for them. Farm fresh eggs are a must at this place. After all what is a farm without fresh eggs?

I got a call from Jason out there on the road and he probably wont be home till Thanksgiving. Dang I miss having him around. I got no one to fuss at now. lol I think Rob is coming back home this weekend, maybe on Sunday to help out here on the farm. We still have 3 more rows of sweet potatoes to dig and the bread corn to pick. Not sure if it will be dry enough to do either this week.The weather was really nice today with temps in the low 70s and sunshine. Still nice out for night too.

OK it time for more pain control, so till next time, blessings from the McGuire homestead.

Stella

On the road

Not much getting done on the homestead this week with the rain and all my doctors appointments. Did get my dark Cornish ran on Craig's list for sale so am hoping I can move them pretty soon. Takes a lot of feed to keep 28 birds happy.
I feel like I have been on the road all day. Had an appointment with orthopedic surgeon today, kinda a pre-op thing so he could tell me what to expect with my surgery tomorrow. Then back home to pack and then go to my son Robs house for the night. He is the one taking me to surgery tomorrow. Not really looking forward to not being able to use my right arm for at least 2 weeks. But maybe the pain will cease. Am thinking this is going to be a long winter.
The rain finally stopped last night and today was fairly nice. But it is rather cold out this evening. We got to Richmond early enough to have dinner at Red Lobster. I think I got my shrimp fix for a while.
Got to get up early so guess I am off to bed. Till next time, blessings from the McGuire homestead.

Stella

It rained again

I had big plans for getting some stuff done today in the yard. Had a doctors appointment this morning and thought I would get to work when I got home but that didn't happen. It started to rain as I left the doc's office and has rained all afternoon. The weather man said it will dry out some tomorrow but I wont get much done then as I have another doctors appointment in the morning and will be going to my son Rob's house for the night. He will be the one taking me to the surgery center on Thursday for my surgery. Not looking forward to this at all. It means I wont be able to do any thing in the yard for quite a while.
The rain today really cooled things off around here. Kinda chilly and damp in the house. A fire sure would feel good. Its getting to the time of year when we need to move some firewood closer to the house for quick use. There is nothing as comforting as a nice fire in the fireplace when ya have someone to share it with.
I will try to keep up with my blogging after I get home from surgery. Not sure how that will go, guess I can get used to typing with one hand. So till next time, blessings from the McGuire homestead.

Stella

Finally done canning chicken

I finally got done caning chicken this evening. I sorta got a late start but it took all day. I had 3 canners full to process. There were 17 quarts of chicken, 11 quarts and 8 pints of stock. I canned some of the stock in pints because I use it to cook lentils. All beans and legumes need to have animal fats cooked in them to unlock all the nutrients for the human body to absorb. Spent the day outside while the canner was going just doing odd jobs that I want to get finished before I have surgery on Thursday. I did reorganize the root cellar to better fit my needs. And while I was doing this I was thinking of a Tom and Jerry cartoon I had seen some time ago. In the cartoon Tom was locked in the house and had only 1 can of food ad Jerry hid the can opener. That's how I will feel after surgery. I have all this canned food and will only have use of one hand and wont be able to open jars. As my friend Jen would tell me "you are a mess. Got more projects to complete tomorrow so off to bed I go. Till next time, blessings from the McGuire homestead.

Stella

Done butchering

As of today I am done butchering chickens for the year. We got the dark Cornish roosters butchered today and I also butchered off my old laying flock of black australorps. There was a total of 16 birds. They were done laying and molting and the Cornish will be laying about the same time the australorps would have started back so they are headed for the stew pot. I am still pressure cooking some of the chicken parts for stock as I write this. Got one canner full done and strained and one cooking now. Am going to strain that one and put the stock in the refrigerator and can it tomorrow. I have my water bath canner full of the legs, thighs, and breast meat to can tomorrow also.
When I ordered the dark Cornish this year, I ordered 10 pullets and 25 straight run chicks. And of the straight run only about 10 were roosters. I guess if I had ordered just the 25 straight run I would have likely ended up with no pullets. But now I have too many. Such is my luck. So I think I will offer about 10 of the pullets for sale with one rooster. They are too good a bunch to butcher for meat. And besides I will have enough meat canned to do for quite some time. So I'm off to strain the stock and then hit the bed. Till next time, blessings from the McGuire homestead.

Stella

A beautiful fall day

The weather was just beautiful today here in the hills of East Kentucky. Warm enough to make working outside so nice. I got out and spread some compost on the asparagus and onion bed so I can work it into the soil and then put on the mulch. Maybe tomorrow evening I will get the rest of the compost spread on the herb bed and strawberries and prep them for the mulch as well. I got a lot of cleanup work to do before next Thursday when I have surgery on my elbow. Am thinking that will put the kibosh on my working in the yard and gardens around here. At least this fall. Tomorrow I will be butchering the rest of the dark Cornish and all the old laying flock if Black Australorps. Then I will can the meat and probably freeze some as well. But its now or never to do the butchering as it will be late in November before I could be able to do that stuff and a little too cold for my liking to be outside butchering.
When I was on vacation I stopped in central Kentucky to spend a few days with my friend Rosie and her hubby Sam and she sent me home with a large brown grocery bag of sage leaves to dry. I have those on window screens in the kitchen now but am thinking I will put them in the dehydrator to speed the process so I can get them ground and stored before my surgery. Might be a little hard to crank an herb grinder with one hand. While I was there she taught me to make Oatmeal soup. I was a little apprehensive at first due to the fact that the only way I had ever had oatmeal was as a cereal. It is very economical and so darn good. So for the benefit of some other friends who had ask for the recipe I will post the instructions just as Rosie told me to make the soup. So here is Rosie's German Oatmeal soup:

1 med. onion minced
1 cup oatmeal
2 tablespoons of oil
about a quart of water
1 bouillon cube
Swiss cheese
fresh chives
black pepper to taste
2 whole eggs

Put oil or butter in kettle and saute minced onion till it gets golden. Dump in the oatmeal and stir to toast the oatmeal. Add water and bouillon cube and simmer till it thickens a little and the oats are done. Just before serving break the eggs in the soup and stir to break the yolks and mix the eggs into the soup. Similar to egg drop soup. Simmer a few minutes to cook the eggs. Season to taste with pepper. Ladle into serving bowls and shred Swiss cheese on top, sprinkle with chives and enjoy. I know it sounds strange but is so good and filling. I don't eat cheese and I really enjoyed this soup. Thanks Rosie. Great when you want something hot and comforting for dinner.
Till next time, blessings from the McGuire homestead.

Stella