New blog, new adventures!

For those that would keep up on what's going down, feel free to check out my new blog site:

A Year in the Round.

Thanks!

New project pony!

The past few days I have been playing with a new pony down at the neighbor's farm. Now, I used to say the yearling filly was one of the ugliest equines I'd seen, but this one takes the cake. She's about as pleasant to look at as sandpaper, at point blank range.



Luckily her color is her only fault. Her personality, willingness to learn new things, and calm, confident demeanor really win my heart over. Plus, she's old enough to be ridden regularly (not the filly's case), looks to be about six or seven. She is wide, soft, and has a very smooth looking gait. I can't wait to ride her. Her only real fault is that she overreaches with her back feet. Meaning; when she walks, the toe of her back hoof hits the heel of her front hoof on the same side. Now, her hooves are also pretty long, and she doesn't do it always. After doing extensive research, and talking with a great friend of mine who's father is an equine vet, it can easily be helped (if it comes to that).

I've noticed a strange thing about her hair. She has three whorls of hair on her forehead. Now this doesn't seem very important to most people, but the hair whorls on a horse's body can be said to predict temperament. There's a whole pseudoscience based upon it, kind of like horoscopes. I don't particularly believe it, but it's interesting nonetheless. The most concrete information I can find about three whorls says "...two or more whorls generally indicated a more complicated nature, sometimes referred to as a 'teacher horse.'" She also has dimple-like whorls on either side of her mouth, which I can't find much about, but they make her look like she's happy. :)



And that makes me happy.

Bye bye birdies (and Christmas trees), (and hot chocolate from an envelope)

Friday was a sad day. My two most consistent layers were killed by a fox. I found them both, or what was left of them in the yard. The evidence was written all over the snow. Despite Trip's sweet offer to do so, I buried them on my own, far from the house. These were my girls. I raised them, I loved them. They have all lived in my house at some point and I have to face such hard truths myself, as they are my responsibility. Farm life will go on, I suppose.

May your final resting place be full of organic, vine ripened, heirloom tomatoes, Whitey and Black Bird!

In brighter news, I found a website; Restaurant.com. There you can buy gift certificates for participating restaurants in your area for a really discounted price. For example, I bought a 25 dollar gift certificate to a sushi joint in town for 2 dollars (a special they were running, they send them to members all the time). You have to spend a minimum of 40, but it's still a sweet deal. Basically you spend 17 bucks on a 40 dollar meal. Way to go, me. Actually, my friend told me about it, but... I'm still gonna claim it, don't judge.

Anyway, we played a little dress up for our date night, and I thought I'd catch Trip while he was wearing his new Christmas clothes and playing Yahtzee. He's so handsome. :)



The next night was a little less formal, with a lot more action. Thankfully none from the fire department. Some pyromaniac friends brought some Christmas trees over to burn in our yard. I had had no idea that Christmas trees burn with such intensity, but they really do. Take my word for it. I got nervous a couple times. In the photo you can see the fire reaching up and grabbing our pine tree, which is about 15 feet away and 10 feet up from the burn pit. Creepy!



Sunday I set out to build another chicken tractor. The poor remaining five girls are all huddling inside the coop Trip made in the spring. It's a wonderful coop, but not meant to house that many birds. Luckily it is winter, and they are still in shock from seeing the death of their sisters. They won't even peep their heads out of the house unless I go out there and coax them out with sweet talking and spoiled food from the kitchen. :(

When I finish the tractor, I'll make a pictorial guide, but it's quite easy and transportable. I am loosely basing mine off of this design, but hopefully much sturdier, as this one looks like it'll collapse if anything tests the wire from the outside (i.e, dog or fox). And Dad, you will be proud, I used the table saw AND the circular saw in one day without a single casualty.

To prepare ourselves for working on the porch in the cold, I decided to finally attempt some real hot cocoa. The other day I broke down and bought some cocoa from the store, and I simply followed the recipe on the side. It's rather easy, and although it takes a little more effort than pre-packaged stuff, it's worth it, especially if you are trying to convince your boyfriend that you really *do* need a table saw tutorial for the seventh time... I remember my Grandma Nancy used to make it all the time, sometimes with minty cocoa. It was always delicious, but seemed a mysterious ingestible that only women over 40 can produce (you know these types of things, like fried chicken and meatloaf). I took the plunge and went for it, despite my sixteen year handicap. Tutorial follows:



Ingredients, pretty simple (if you want really rich stuff, maybe try adding some cream into your milk... mm!).





Put all dry ingredients (with some warm water) into a pan and boil for a couple minutes, stirring occasionally. Isn't that a sweet whisk?! The thick chocolatey delicious mixture gets thrown into some milk that was warming in the meantime, throw in 3/4 tbsp of vanilla extract and...




Bada bing bada boom! Instantly your boyfriend will give you a tutorial for use and upkeep of every tool he owns, at least four times! Ahh, it's not easy being a genius.

Brag + Blog = Brogging or Blagging?

I don't mean to brag, but I kind of am. Trip and I made this for din-din last night and it was easily one of the most sense-appealing meals I've made in a long time.



Salmon, sweet potatoes, and asparagus. All in one skillet, with just oil, salt and pepper, and in about 30 minutes. Amazing. It looks expensive, but it wasn't really. The salmon was a "manager's special" i.e., "eat this soon or it will be dog food," and the sweet potatoes were home grown. The asparagus was the only real cost.

I got the recipe at the amazing Art of Manliness website (it is there, just scroll down). We just kinda doubled it.

Speaking of homegrown 'taters, I recently got my first seed catalog for the 2011 season from Seeds of Change. It's a pretty sweet company that sells only certified organic seeds and has a large variety of heirloom veggies as well, which, as you know, I am a fan of. Browse their site and order a free catalog! It's full of good tips and looks like a magazine.

Trip and I have decided to cut back on our garden this year and focus on things we know we'll eat and preserve, and in quantities as such. No experiments this time, no going overboard on cukes and maters. Yikes. I'm really interested in growing my own potatoes again, but in "stacks" kind of. It's hard to explain, but easy once you see pictures. Here is a link to the method I will be using this year. It's easier to harvest them this way. Instead of poking a fork blindly into the soil and sacrificing a few (probably missing some, too), you open up the wire fence and sort through the soil to find them. Unharmed, AND less actual work. :)

I'm planning on growing Yukon Golds (an early variety), All-Blue (a late variety), and whatever sweet potatoes I can get my grubby little hands on. All of these store well.

Pop culture

A few weeks ago I was standing in the popcorn aisle of the grocery store staring at the different sorts, brands, prices and quantities. Trip loves popcorn, he'd eat it every day. But, with prices at just under a dollar per individual serving, it can get expensive. I grabbed the big jug o'kernels on the top shelf and gave it a lookie.

For just under $6, I have 30 oz. of popcorn kernels to use at my disposal, in whatever quantity I want, with whatever toppings I want. Compare that to buying three 3.5 oz bags of butter laden popcorn for $3. I think you get my drift. That jug o'kernels had a new home.

I've never bought popcorn kernels for fear that is was messy, I needed a specific machine, and that it was dangerous. Not so, my friends! Last night was our first attempt at making them, and I'm happy to share the experience.



First, put three or so kernels in about a tablespoon of oil (we used canola, higher smoke point than olive oil). Cover the pot, and when you hear the first kernel pop, pour 1/2 cup of kernels into the pot and COVER again. The covering is very important, or it will be like the fourth of July on your stove.



Here you can see Trip modeling his new mullet and demonstrating the second step of home popping. After you pour the kernels into the pot and cover it, swirl the pot around on the burner so as not to burn the kernels on the bottom. Listen for the kernels to slow down to a pop every three seconds, and remove from heat.



Use a bigger pot than we did!



Voila! Custom popcorn and chamomile tea, started at the same time and finished at the same time (5 minutes, about the same as preparing a microwaveable bag). Now we both have the freedom to prepare popcorn the ways we like it. For instance, I like mine very plain, with just some olive oil. Trip likes his loaded up with salt, black pepper, butter, and sometimes red pepper, which is awful. No more popcorn arguments, though surely something else will fill their spot... Also a plus, there is no smell like the microwave popcorn makes. It's very clean, as you only need to wash the pot it was prepared in.



If only the movie we watched was as good...

The real dirt on True Grit, and other things

Whoa, I just came in from outside and it is nine degrees Fahrenheit beyond the walls of the box we currently call home. Trip nudged the thermostat toward 62 last night and I didn't protest. Though I do feel bad for the poor thing, it hasn't worked this hard in a long time... Luckily I had the luxury of curling up to a living and breathing, non-shedding bed warmer. I also indulged in snuggling up to my microwavable bed warming object that Mom presented me at Christmas, so it was double warmz!! Thanks Mom.

Just in case anyone worries about him on these chilly nights, Woodford is rarely bothered by temperature. He lives in a sandwich of love and warmth in every moment of his life. For example; an actual crib mattress, 2x memory foam mattress pads, and various blankets separate him from the floor, while an actual twin-sized comforter, doubled over, separates him from the big bad, scary air. He will still try to convince us that he needs to remember what our bed feels like in order to truly appreciate his own.



Before Christmas, I watched the original True Grit movie because I got so GD pumped after seeing the new one's trailer. Trip and I made a promise to our other Western-philic friends that we would wait until after the break to see it together. Last night I finally graduated from repeatedly watching the trailers on Youtube, as I had started to feel like a super senior (again).

My review of the movie is short and sweet:

It's not like the original, possibly better. However, this one is more closely based on the book I have heard. I haven't read the book. Jeff Bridges is amazing. Hailee Steinfeld (Mattie Ross) is amazing, and Matt Damon is... Matt Damon. I absolutely could not be disappointed because the best movie scene of all times is still very much intact, and better. Call the cleanup crew, there's been an explosion of giddy theater number eight.
Fun fact; the new version was filmed in the exact same location as the old (Granger, TX). Even some of the old tying posts were still in location, and the reservation doctor/shop owner's cabin is the same. Pretty cool!
Bottom line: Highly, highly recommended. I think I'm in love.



No, I'm sure of it.

Snow showers

It is hard to take a warm shower when you have to share with a drafty window that has snow on the sill.