Hey folks! Been art deadline week here this week hence no blog post from me. That’s all done so now I get to breathe again! LOL! Hope you’ve had a great week. Still cold here & in fact we had another hoar frost again last night.

Started Hannah’s quilt last Friday night & of course I got more fancy than I had intended so ended up with just enough fabric to do the front. Went back to the store yesterday & they had 5 1/2 yards left of the same fabric! Just enough for the back. Phew! I hope to get more done this weekend.
Tulip  seems to be back in good health but her being sick actually did us all a favor as we had wanted to get her down to once a day milking but couldn’t BUT now she is. Giving us 2 1/2 gallons each morning which is plenty & it eases the pressure on her too not to mention giving me few more minutes in my day. Made fresh Coconut Ice Cream & Raspberry Sauce yesterday. Yummy, yummy.
The last of the piglets died They were fine one night, dead the next morning. Oh well part of life in the cold on a farm.

Daniel had his second violin lesson yesterday. Of course I told him to go the bathroom before we left & then asked him if he needed to go before the lesson & you know the answer - NO! When we came to pick him up they were not there - the teacher had had to take him to the bathroom. That was an expensive trip to the toilet! And yes Daniel got a good talking to & that will not happen again.

Daniel is 7 tomorrow so we are taking him to Havre to the Chinese for lunch. We are not big on parties here so it will just be family & I will bake him a cake.

Caleb is sleeping through the night now. He is enjoying his banana, carrots & rice - not altogether of course! He goes to bed about 8pm & wakes up between 7 & 8 am so can’t complain about that
Not much else going on. Hope you all enjoy your weekend.

Liz

Hey all!

What have I been up to this week? Hmm.. not sure I can remember but I’ll try! LOL! Art deadline is arriving soon so I have had my head in that. Once I get “into” it, it is hard for me to drag myself away but we did take the afternoon off yesterday to take Daniel to Havre for his first violin lesson.  You would have thought it was Christmas here, Daniel was SO excited. We had given him a violin a couple Christmasses ago but had never got him lessons. Last week I heard of a lady who is coming up from Great Falls each Wednesday. She is the co-concert master of the Great Falls Symphony orchestra so knows her stuff. Daniel enjoyed his lesson & is looking forward to going back. From there we needed to go to Ben Franklins.

Before Christmas we had ordered Daniel & Hannah new beds (well Hannah got new furniture also so that Caleb could have hers) & because it is all made to order it only arrived here last week. (Yes we did purchase furniture made in the USA.) At the same time I had ordered them duvet covers as we already had the duvets. Finding USA made duvet covers was a challenge but I found some so placed the order. They never arrived. Called & emailed & then discovered this week that the company was gone! SO I called the bank & because we had placed the order using our debit card they refunded the money. BUT of course that left us with no duvet covers. Back at the time of ordering them I had been tempted to make them quilts but really did not have the time. LOL! I really don’t have the time now but we went to the store yesterday & purchased all the fabric etc to make them quilts. They will be simple, I can assure you but I want to make big ones (80″ x 90″) so they will be a challenge. Thinking through things in my head as to how to go about it. Will show you a picture as I complete each. Don’t hold your breath though as it may be a while In the meantime the kids are not cold as they obviously still have the duvets on their beds.

We got dumped on with snow again last weekend & the temps have dropped again. Not as cold but still minus 16 this morning so cold enough. Poor Tulip was not well last weekend, her milk production dropped to nothing but the weather had a lot to do with it. The winds were hideous. She is doing better now but we are not drinking her milk yet. I recently read a book on the history of Chinook & how it started in the late 1800’s - very fascinating. It was very interesting to read how the new homesteaders were promised a lush valley with green grass etc. Many of them brought their milk cows etc. It wasn’t until the “poor” folks actually came here & lived a winter did they realized how they had been deceived. I cannot imagine how they survived. Of course many of them did not stay but there were a lot that did.

Richard & I got a new toy yesterday. OK so Richard got a new toy! He LOVES gadgets, I just want something to work plain & simple. I have suffered with a bad back since a teenager & Richard’s back is not as good as it should be and as hiring a masseuse everyday wasn’t an option we decided to purchase a massage chair. LOL! We had tried one out at a friend’s house a couple weeks ago & it did help as my back aches every day even though I stretch it etc. Anyways it arrived yesterday. Richard loves it because of all the buttons & I just am glad to sit in it & get my back massaged. Of course that meant we had to rearrange all the furniture to fit it in so the living room looked like a bomb had hit it. All is tidy now & the chair is helping us both.

Hope you are having a great week,

Liz

OK so Richard was playing this morning! We have had freezing fog & frost for the last two days so I wanted to show you these gorgeous pics that Richard took this morning. Above is on the trampoline net.

Here is the tree just outside our bedroom window. The frost is at least 1″ thick & is so detailed. Just incredible. Showing you in stages of closeness.

We do not normally get this kind of frost as this is such a dry climate but it’s a little moist out there right now & we are supposed to be really dumped on with snow this weekend.

Our power has been going on & off all day so not quite sure what will happen once the wet snow arrives. At least we have the woodstove & also some emergency lanterns so we won’t be totally in the dark. Here is the most detailed pic - totally breathtaking.

Enjoy your weekend - we are not planning on going anywhere except to go out to the animals who will not appreciate more snow on the ground.

Take care,

Liz

Just a quick note to let you know that we awoke to a dead piglet this morning. I think she died early in the night. We did everything we could for her even though we knew the odds were against us so no regrets. Some you win, some you lose. The other three all seem to be doing great still with mama so let’s hope it stays that way.
Hope you’ve all had a great day. VERY frosty here - no sun at all.

Take care,

Liz

Just in case you think I sit around having massages & eating bon-bons all day (a common joke around here) here’s what I did between 4pm & 7:45pm this evening. Richard had to do a transport with the ambulance to Great Falls this afternoon so he left at 3pm & is not home yet.

First I tidied up the kitchen - lunch dishes etc. That was followed by washing bottles, making butter & yogurt then feeding the kids. Got Daniel & Hannah in the bath then had to feed the piglet. If she lives I’m going to call her Pixie but for now it’s still early days. She cannot stand by herself so every hour or so I help her stand so that she can put weight on her legs & I am also beginning to realize that she grunts alot when she needs to go to the bathroom - yes pigs are smart. She is now in the duck tub that we use for ducklings in the spring so has room to walk when able plus it is much easier to clean up. Started her on some baby rice today as that what was recommended on a website I found. They also said that fresh goats milk was best for them but we don’t have that so Tulip’s will have to do & hers is similar to goats anyway as it is partly homogenized unlike regular cows. After feeding Pixie I then milked Tulip. Michelle was here so she watched the little ones & got D&H out of the bath. By the time I got back in Caleb was yelling for his dinner. Once he was finished I put D&H to bed & then started to sit down to enjoy a bowl of raspberries & custard (I don’t eat before milking the cow as bending under the cow with a full stomach makes one queasy) but the piglet decided she needed the toilet so I had to sort her out! It’s like having two babies in the house - if one isn’t crying the other is grunting!
Hope your day was a good one,

Liz

Before I say anything else please let me explain the beer bottle I never thought about it yesterday & yes that is a beer bottle that Richard was using to feed the piglet. No we are not beer drinkers but the neighbors are so when we need some we go ask. Beer bottles are the perfect size for the nipples plus they hold enough milk for the smaller animals. We always start the lambs off on beer bottles before transferring them to the bucket.

That said, piglet was pretty weak this morning so I have resorted to syringe feeding every two hours. She has just had her second feeding of 3ozs of Tulip’s milk & was able to stand. We have moved her away from the fire so she gets used to normal room temps - she’s still warm but we didn’t want her overheating. Earlier she laid on her side & enjoyed a good tickle from Richard, her little front leg going so that was a good sign. I’m not sure how our house will smell after another day! We are keeping her as clean as possible but….

Oh well - the joys of living on a farm.

Liz

I know, you’re probably wondering what on earth you will read about next on here! Richard brought in one very cold piglet this morning so she has been sat by the fire all day. This batch of piglets has not done well - we only have 3 girls & 1 boy left. I know, very sad. Although we trained them to go under the heat lamps this litter wanted to be with mama & so got cold, or so it seems. They are 4 weeks old now & should have plenty of fat on them plus be eating grain. This little gal is thin & not interested in food at all although we have been giving her milk today.

This morning it was quite comical as Caleb wanted his bottle & the piglet needed hers so Richard was feeding her whilst I fed Caleb. Penny is in fabulous shape so that’s not the problem. Oh well we’ll do our best to save this one - whether she ever goes back to mama time will tell. The other three seem to be doing OK. Penny has been WAY more protective over them this time & we’re wondering if it is because she thinks we are taking her babies away. Pigs are very smart.

Here they all are outside on Saturday when we cleaned them out. The boar is nearly twice the size of the gilts so Penny’s doing something right!

Maddie, the German Shepherd, is like a mother hen. Anyone go near the piglet & she is right there - silly girl.

In other news it was the court case for the termination of Caleb’s birthfather’s rights last week. We did not need to be there but the birthmom & social worker went. Caleb’s BF did not turn up so his rights were terminated. This means that this is no longer a “Legal Risk” adoption which is good. We can now proceed with everything that needs to be done for Finalization at the end of May/beginning of June. Montana law states that finalization cannot occur until 6mths after placement.

Hope your week is going well,

Liz

…a tropical heatwave, the temperature’s rising etc etc.

Ok so if you are not a fan of the movie White Christmas then those words will mean nothing to you BUT I’ve been singing them the last few days as we have been up in the 30’s. It feels SO good. In fact today, Hannah made me laugh. She doesn’t feel the cold & likes to wear as little clothes as possible so she had on shorts & a shirt, put boots on her feet & went outside to play in the snow. It was quite hilarious. Her hands got cold so she came in & put on a pair of gloves! And yes it was about 36F! As you can see in this pic Daniel is dressed in hat, coat etc.

The other excitement of the day involved calves AGAIN! Barbecue & Dolly had disappeared at the end of last week when it was still very cold. Richard took a walk on Saturday to see if he could see them but nothing. We called the neighbors on Sunday but nobody had seen them. Yesterday, being Monday meant we were WAY too busy to go looking for calves but this afternoon Daniel & I, along with the dogs, took a walk. It was HARD going. The snow is deep & it wasn’t long before I had to take my coat & gloves off - I was sweating. We had made it nearly to the river when Richard buzzed me on the walkie talkie. Yes thank goodness we had taken one with us - haven’t down that in ages. He had just had a call from the brand inspector to say the calves had been found walking through town on Saturday evening! Goodness only knows how they got there - all we can think is that they walked up the frozen river until they came to a bank & got up onto the road & walked into town. So Richard had to go get the trailer hooked up & go pick them up. (What a blessing we have a “resident” babysitter! LOL! Tricia is always happy to stop making stamps to come cuddle Caleb & look after Daniel & Hannah if we both have to be out at the same time. This gives her her Baby “fix.” Of course Michelle is also around alot too so we are doubly blessed.) We had to pay $20 to the stockyards for feeding them & $10 to the Brand Inspector for finding their owners. He also gave us a “warning” as cattle are not allowed in the city limits. LOL! Barbecue & Dolly are now back down with Heidi & Charlie but who knows if they’ll actually stay here this time.

As for Tulip she is giving us 3 to 4 gallons of milk a day! That is a LOT of milk but now with no calves on her she is giving us the cream & it is yummy. I made Mozzarella Cheese last night so today we had homemade pizza.

I just took the Christmas pics off the camera & thought you would enjoy this picture of Santa Caleb:

Oh my! I’m not sure I am qualified to do this but I will share how I make them & you can all add your own twists. One of my earliest memories is going to Grandma’s on Market Day (Wednesday’s). The whole family would gather & she would always make pasties. The were SO delicious - I can still smell them now She always made them on dinner plates so you could slice them & that is the way I make them these days as it is a little less time consuming but even then it takes a while as I make 5! BUT here’s the info on making ONE.

First you need a good non sweet pastry recipe. We only use whole wheat here so here is our recipe. Once made, divide this in half & you’ll have enough for the top & bottom crust.

2 cups whole wheat / spelt flour

3/4 tsp salt

1/2 cup beef fat or lard. Do not use shortening or the hydrogenated lard from the store - both those products are POISON. If you do not have good fat or lard then you can use butter or oil.

2 tbsp butter

9 tbsp cold water (adjust this if you use oil)

Mix the flour, salt, fat & butter until the fat is about pea size. Gradually add the water a tablespoon at a time. Yet again I do this in my Kitchen Aid so once the pastry is going around in a ball then it is wet enough. Place in refrigerator for approx 30 mins.

1. Whilst waiting for the pastry cut your beef (I use round steaks) into small chunks. I do not use a recipe so don’t know exact amounts but you want enough to cover the plate. Also if you are using fresh onions & rutabaga now would be the time to chop them up. Yet again, use the quantities you like.
2. Roll out half the pastry on a floured board making it slightly larger than your dinner plate so that you have enough to roll up & seal the edges. Lay on plate. (Make sure the dinner plate you use is suitable for putting in the oven!)
3. Slice potatoes. This has to be done fresh else they discolor. You want to have thin slices so I use the food processor - slicing by hand won’t get them thin enough.
4. Put a good layer of potatoes on top of pastry. Salt & Pepper.
5. Repeat with second layer & season again.
6. Add a good layer of the chopped beef.
7. Next comes the onion & rutabaga if you like those. I have to make one with no onions for Michelle & it turns out fine.
8. Season with more Salt & Pepper.
9. Roll out second half of pastry.
10. Moisten edges of pastry on bottom of plate with milk or water.
11. Put freshly rolled out pastry on top & roll up edges to seal. You can make this as pretty or ugly as you like! LOL!
12. Baste the top with milk & cut a small slice in center to let the steam out.
13. Cook at 300F for about 1 1/2 - 2 hours, then cover with foil & cook at 375F for 30 mins.

I always like to cook my pasties slow so that the meat is really tender & the pasty is juicy but obviously you can cook it at a higher temperature - just cover it in foil for longer so the pastry does not burn.

If you are a vegetarian then skip the meat & if you have some other favorite veggies then experiment & see which one’s work the best.

Serve hot, warm or cold - this truly is a versatile meal.

If you have some pastry left over get out the jam & raisins - spread the jam on the rolled out pastry, sprinkle with raisins & roll it up. My dad used to LOVE this. Of course when pasties were originally made they had two halves - savory on one end & sweet on the other. This was so the miners had a complete & easy meal.

Enjoy!

Liz

Once the new art deadline is done here (first Thursday of each month) then I take a day off to recover before starting all over again. Yes I guess you could say it’s a bit like working for a monthly magazine - those last few days before deadline are crazy but when it is over it feels SO good! Yesterday I managed to finish by late afternoon so took last night off. Got a new book for Christmas - The Duggars: 20 and Counting! Halfway through it - very good book. I think what is impressing me so much is not that they have 18 children but their business/money philosophy & how God has honored their stand of being totally debt free including a mortgage. Their grocery bill is $3,000 a month! Richard & I have strived to run our business that way & seen incredible blessings. In our private lives it has been many years since we have had car loans etc. In fact a car loan was one of the biggest mistakes we ever made. We weren’t even married when we took out our first car loan to buy what turned out to be two cars joined together! It took us 14 years to get out of the car loan trap but what a relief when we finally did & could then start to pay cash for good used vehicles. We don’t drive fancy vehicles but they serve their purpose, are not falling apart & are doing the job we need them to. I have to admit we still have a mortgage though but are working at paying that off. We have done our best to instill that in our kids - don’t get into debt - it’s just not worth it.

Didn’t mean to “preach” at you! LOL! Back to the title of this blog posting. Spent the morning in the kitchen making Cornish Pasties. I honestly can’t remember the last time I made these but they long overdue & Richard was very pleased. Cornish Pasties are a very simple food - pastry, chunks of beef, potatoes & onions. (Some folks put rutabagas in theirs too) I always make enough to eat hot for lunch, warm for dinner & cold for lunch the next day! Yummy. Here’s a slice for you to sample

Finally got some usable milk out of Tulip this morning which was nice. She’s not going to her calves anymore & is calming down so that is good. The weather felt balmy out there this morning - it was only -11. I noticed Richard didn’t have his hat on (had ear muffs) & commented. He laughed just saying it wasn’t cold enough! Isn’t it incredible how you get used to the cold & it’s all relative? Hope you all enjoy your weekend. Sat here cuddling one very sweet baby boy & I’m not talking about Michael or Daniel! LOL! Caleb is often the cause of me typing one handed. My desk chair rocks meaning I can sit here, work & rock Caleb all at the same time.
Liz