Holidays, family time, now the flu

Once again it has been a while since I posted here and let you all know I am still kickin. Damn time has a way of getting away from me somehow. We had a relaxing family holiday with the kids all here. Rob and Amoy got here with lil man Liam on the 27th of December and stayed till January 4th when they had to fly home. We sure enjoyed having them here and getting time to see Liam grow. They learn things so fast at this young age it still amazes me. He decided he does not like a sippy cup but will drink all you will let him have from a bottle or regular glass. Of course he got his Ale8 fix by buttering up his daddy.

 Don't panic, its not beer, its just a regional drink here in Ky. Soft drink that is.  Rob and Amoy try to get their fill while they are here visiting because they wont get any Ale8 till we visit in April and take some to them in Nevada. But lil man sure did like it too. They had a busy week trying to see as many family members and friends as possible in a short time.  Liam got to spend lots of quality time with papaw too. Papaw is the one who takes lil humans outside barefoot to look at chickens.

As you can tell, papaw thinks this lil boy is pretty special. As do I. He is trying to get his nerve up to stand alone and let go but mostly loses his nerve and sits down really quick before his bottom hits the floor. Such a precious age. I look at this lil boy and wonder what things he will do in his life. He has wonderful parents to guide him so I see him doing great things.

We took Rob and Amoy and Liam to the airport on Saturday and had dinner out with them before they left. They made it home to their house on Sunday safe and sound. Their flight took them to Salt Lake and they stayed the night as opposed to driving 3 more hours on home and getting there very late and too tired.

Sunday the weather here was so nice and Rodger and I decided it was time to clean out the chicken house before the sub-zero temps set in the first part of this past week. We did not get to take the manure to the garden as it was far to wet to get in there with the tractor or it may still be there. So it is piled out at the edge of the woods to break down over winter and we can spread the compost later. I cleaned out the cob webs and next boxes in the house while Rodger shoveled manure. Got them all bedded down well for the cold snap. Then we took some plywood and made a dog house under the front porch for Luna. She did not stay on her bed on the porch that I had fixed for her. But I knew the weather was pose to be windy and very cold. I put a pallet down and we put up plywood sides on each end of the pallet for wind breaks an put her blanket and pillows in there and she is a happy camper. At least she will stay in there out of the weather and off the ground. She comes out in the mornings all shiny and new, dry and happy. In all this process and having the outbuildings open, somehow our big cat Possum decided he was gonna hide out in the building. By Monday the cold had hit and it was bitter cold. By Wednesday I ask Rodger if he had seen Possum and he had not. On Thursday morning he just happened to think that just maybe he was in the outbuilding. And sure enough he was. He had been closed up in there since probably Sunday. Poor guy was hungry and seemed kinda weak when he came to the porch to eat later that day. He stayed warm but he sure didn't have any food or water in there unless he happened upon a mouse or 3.

On Tuesday I went to help Jason at his house for a bit. He was thawing out some of his water lines that had froze because his heater under the house had malfunctioned and didn't keep it warm enough. I was not outside for more than 10 minutes, tops. I got back in the house and started chilling. Then I spiked a fever. For the ones of you that know me well enough know the meds I take for the arthritis suppresses the immune system and I don't get symptoms of being sick till I am deathly ill. Well folks, I am deathly ill. I went to bed by 6 that evening an didn't get up till 9 the next morning. My head hurt, my whole body hurt. I had an awful sinus infection. I started taking antibiotics for the sinus and chest congestion with high hopes that's all it was. I am now thinkin it is likely the flu. I still hurt and from time to time still spike a fever. I am just a miserable pup. I must get better to die. Not really much can be done for the flu other than keep hydrated and treat the symptoms. I can do that will chicken soup and teas we have here.

Sometime during all this chaos I found a recipe for cinnamon rolls made in the bread machine. I had to try them as they sounded almost too good to be true. Well folks, lemme tell ya, they are damn good. And really easy to make. No work to em really. So here is the recipe that I used.

For Dough:
1 cup warm milk (110 degrees F)
2 eggs, room temperature
1/3 cup butter, melted
4 ½ cups bread flour
1 teaspoon salt
½ cup white sugar
2 ½ teaspoons bread machine yeast

For Filling:
1 cup brown sugar, packed
2 ½ teaspoons ground cinnamon
1/3 cup butter, softened

For Frosting:
1 (3 ounce) pkg. of cream cheese, softened
¼ cup butter, softened
1 ½ cup confectioners’ sugar
½ teaspoon vanilla extract
⅛ teaspoon salt





1) Place all roll ingredients in the pan of the bread machine in the order recommended by the manufacturer. Then select the dough setting and press start.
2) Let the dough double in size, then turn it out on a lightly floured surface. Cover with a towel and let it rest for 10 minutes. Meantime, grab a small bowl and combine butter, brown sugar,  and cinnamon.
3) Roll dough into a large rectangle (16×21). Spread the dough with the butter/brown sugar/ cinnamon mixture. Roll up dough and cut into 12 rolls. Place rolls in two lightly greased round pie pans. Cover and let rise until nearly doubled in size, about 30 minutes. Meanwhile, preheat the oven to 400 degrees F.4) Bake the rolls until golden brown, about 15 minutes. While rolls are baking, make the frosting. Beat together cream cheese, ¼ cup butter, confectioners’ sugar, vanilla extract and salt. Spread the frosting on as soon as the rolls come out of the oven.

I actually don't think the rolls needed to bake this long. At this length of time they get pretty brown. I think they are better when they are very light brown and still soft. But I tell ya, these are the bestest. I actually used a lasagna pan to put my rolls in, it was dark, and they did get a lil browner than I wanted on the bottom and top. Next time I will put maybe 5 rolls in an 8 inch cake pan and see how they do in that. They do rise really nice too.






Not much else happening here on the homestead right now. Not long till garden time tho. Just a couple months till we start up the greenhouse for cabbage and such. So till next time, blessings from the McGuire homestead.

Stella