Sunday was left overs for lunch & as I was cooking them up I mentioned that it would be nice to have some dessert. Well we didn’t have any eggs so that limited things a little. Yes I know! With all the chickens we have here we should have no shortage of eggs but…… I can’t prove it but I think Penny & Rosco are eating all the ones up here in the top pen. We moved 10 of the new hens down to the bottom pen last week but they are too young to lay yet & the chickens that are down there are getting older so not laying as frequently as they were.

So back to dessert - what to make? I suddenly remembered a recipe that I had read in Down To The Roots magazine many moons ago (Winter 2005 to be exact!) so went & found it. This issue was/is full of bulk recipes & advice on buying in bulk. (For those of you who visit the grocery store every day you would cut your grocery bill by thousands if you started buying in bulk.) What I instantly liked about this recipe was that we had everything on hand. Richard started mixing it up in a pyrex dish but we soon realized that it wouldn’t be big enough if we didn’t want the mix all over the kitchen floor so this is what we moved too! The milk pail!

Here’s the recipe. We used all organic ingredients except for the cornstarch but obviously you an use what you have on hand.

2 1/2 cups dry powdered milk

5 cups sugar

3 cups cornstarch (16oz box)

1 tsp salt

2 1/2 cups unsweetened cocoa

Mix this all together really well & store in a gallon jar or large airtight container.

Then when you actually want to eat some, here’s what you need to do:

2/3 cup chocolate pudding mix (above)

2 cups milk

1tsp Vanilla

1 TBS butter

Cook over low heat, stirring constantly. Bring to the boil & then cook for one more minute. Remove from heat & cool. We used a double mixture for all of us & put it in the freezer to cool for an hour as we wanted to eat it ASAP!

I HAD to make it the next day also & we ate it for dinner with fresh cake & raspberries. YUMMY!

Comes highly recommended from the Pomeroy family! A healthier option for you than the packet stuff you buy in the store.

BTW did you know that CHF has a new “Be Creative” blog/ Don’t panic, this one isn’t going anywhere but the girls wanted their own blog to “play” on. It is fabulous & will really inspire all stampers & scrappers everywhere. You can find it here:

becreative.cornishheritagefarms.com 

Hope you’re having a great week  -can’t believe it is Wednesday already.

Take care,

Liz

Richard & I spent the day cutting & splitting wood. This pile was not here before - the last two days we cut & split “green” wood to season for next year & that is away from the house as we don’t need it now. Today we started on the seasoned wood - i.e. fallen trees with no bark. Our aim is to tidy up as we go as some parts of our pastures are like tree graveyards. A real mess! SO when we cut wood today we picked up all the small or rotten unusable stuff & put in one pile rather than having it strewn everywhere. Needless to say it will be years before we get it tidy but that’s OK. We took the log splitter with us so as Richard cut I split. This worked out really well as when we came back up all we had to do was stack & we were finished. Having the right tools for the job certainly makes a difference.
Michael worked on more fencing. We did get alot of fencing done last weekend.  We decided to cut all the old fencing up for firewood as it really was old & decrepit. So that’s all neatly stacked now & most of the new fence is up but then Michael tore down the old sheep chute which was rotten anyway so is now busy rebuilding. We are not putting in a new chute as we have no plans to be breeding & selling huge quantities of sheep but it formed a fenceline so something has to go there. Michelle did some bagging of rubber & helped stack the wood when we brought it back up. Daniel & Hannah of course were their usual little selves.

I was SO tired by the time we were coming in that I fed & watered Tulip & calves outside & left them to it. The weather is nice & so they are happy to stay out & it means I get a break from milking in the morning. I headed for the shower & gave myself a much needed haircut. Yep, that’s probably something you didn’t know about me, I do not go to the hairdressers. I used to but they never cut it the way I wanted & when the last one moved away I decided that that was it. I’ve been looking like a shaggy dog for the last couple weeks so I thought I’d better do some grooming
Remember that sound I heard the first night Richard was away on ambulance training & thought it was a mouse? Well we had just turned off the light the other night & I heard it again. Of course Richard was beside me this time so also heard it - instant alert! On goes the light & out come the bedside drawers. Nothing! Richard then thought there could be something in the wall but our house is well made so that was unlikely. There he was on all fours staring at the wall like our dogs when they are on the alert & know here is a mouse in a log! It finally dawned. Recently the telephone company have been marking & measuring for new fiber optic cables & the workman had put one of those thin sticks right up by the house on the wall of our bedroom. When the wind was blowing in the right direction it made it vibrate against the side of the house! Finally got to sleep knowing there were not mutant mice about to jump on the bed! LOL!

Enjoy the rest of your weekend,

Liz

Hey folks! I started a new fitness routine yesterday. Now before you start thinking that Liz has found herself a fancy gym to go to let me put you straight. For one thing you should know better & for another there are no fancy gyms in Chinook :0) NOPE! With the advent of the woodstove you know what that means - wood needs to be cut. We have always been blessed to live where there is ample wood supply & here is no exception so Richard got the chainsaw out last night & we have started.

Richard categorically stated right at the beginning that he was NOT going to be splitting wood. We did that in Maryland & quite frankly do not have the time. SO off we went today & bought a log splitter. This afternoon Richard continued to cut wood & I started splitting it.

I know I have said this many times but we are SO blessed. Although Richard & I work very long hours we have the freedom to do so when we like & get to live in this beautiful part of the country along with our kids & animals. We LOVE to be outside & so all this work is no hardship on us. In fact it is invigorating & when I brought the kids in I quickly vacuumed the house whilst they were in the bath so now we have a clean house to relax in.

Whilst in town I finally got my steel toe capped boots! As with all new boots & shoes it takes a while to break them in but hopefully I will break no more toes when Tulip or another animal decides to step on my toes.

When we went down the field last night Roxy disappeared off & started barking. 2 seconds later the lovely smell of skunk wafted up the field! Talk about enjoying nature

Last weekend was pretty cold & in fact we saw our first snow - didn’t stick around but it was definitely white stuff falling from the sky. Thankfully it has warmed back up into the 50’s although the nights are in the 20’s.

Did I tell you Penny the pig was expecting? She is due on December 29th. Yes I know, right in the midst of winter. December isn’t normally too cold but we will have to put her in the barn with heat lamps etc.

Tulip hasn’t looked to jump anymore fences so I’m guessing she is pregnant also. Time will tell!

I think that’s all that’s happening on the farm. Here’s a family portrait that we took for a friend of the kids who has gone to college. We took it before we repainted 3 weeks ago.

Enjoy!

Liz

Hey folks! How has your week been? The weather here has been absolutely glorious hence all the action We worked on the fencing last Saturday - Michael & I worked on the Barbed Wire parts whilst Richard put up the wood parts. This is a pic of the bottom one down by the cow barn where we will store our hay.

For a long time now we have been contemplating putting in a wood stove. Our only source of heat here is gas forced air which is very inefficient & if we were to get a power cut in the depth of winter we would get rather cold very quickly. PLUS we have LOADS of fallen trees here that could be put to good use. SO the decision was made & the wood stove has been ordered. Where to put it? Which corner etc etc were all questions on our minds. THEN came the big one, we really should repaint before bringing the stove in. Richard looks at me on Sunday afternoon & says, “I suppose you want me to get all the painting done by the time I leave on Thursday?” I just smiled! You should know by now that we never do anything by halves - when we decide to do something we do it.
SO we picked out the colors & started on Tuesday evening. Having two teenagers really helped. Michelle & Michael were a real blessing. We painted the kitchen & dining room on Tuesday evening - ceilings, woodwork & walls & then on Wednesday afternoon & evening we painted the living room & hall. It looks so much better & brighter.

Yesterday morning Richard left for ambulance training. Things always happen when he goes away. Michelle went out & found that a raccoon had had the loose chicken & 4 of her babies:( There were now three babies running loose - of course they are wild but we eventually caught them. I put them in with the turkeys but that was no good as the turkey’s were mean to them so last evening I took them down to the cow barn & gave them to Mrs Banti. She was fine but they were off in a corner by themselves this morning. They are so stupid, not sure if they will make it or not. To survive they will have to stay with the group under the rooster’s protection. Time will tell.

Later that morning Daniel managed to pull his chest of drawers down upon himself - it is an absolute miracle that he did not break his leg as it was jammed inside the drawer. He has a bruise & got quite a shock but apart from that all is well.
Last night the calves were being stupid - would not come in & then Roxy & Bella got in on the “chase” & so when I eventually got hold of Rosie she stood on one of my toes & broke it! I am going to have to get myself some steel toe cap boots as this is not the first time this has happened.

Not sure about you but I do not do mice. What I mean by that is that if they are down in the barn then they are sweet & I leave them alone but if they are in the house that is a totally different matter. We had enough mice & rats when we lived in West Virginia to last me a lifetime! Well when I got up yesterday morning the first thing Daniel said to me was, “Mice bite people!” I was like, “Where did you see a mouse?” He had seen it in the bathroom. Now please understand we have lived here 5 years & only had 2 mice in the house so I knew he was not making this up. Anyway I headed for the shower at 1:30 am this morning to discover we had caught the mouse. Rolled into bed & immediately started hearing noises! I could hear this tick, tick sound. We do not have a ticking clock in the bedroom so I was on instant alert. Then came the next sound - something was in my bedside cabinet. I lay there for a few minutes making sure it was not my imagination or an animal outside but no, it was not. I switched on the light, looked down & there was a mouse dropping. I was out of that room FAST! LOL! As for the ticking, that was the kitchen clock that was in a box in the bedroom after our painting SO it is the couch for me for the next couple nights until Richard comes home & cleans out the bedroom & catches the mouse/mice!

So then this morning Daniel comes in wailing! I’m like, “What on earth have you done now?” Not quite sure what had happened but the big boys had left the ladder up for the trampoline instead of putting it up & somehow Daniel had fallen off. We have a net all the way round so he must have slipped on the ladder. He says he banged his head & he also bit his tongue.

This afternoon the neighbor’s horses came to visit. Of course that was a nice treat for Daniel & Hannah. We wet down to give them a stroke but you know what that means…. They have either jumped the fence or broken it! That fence is on our far south west side & was new a couple years ago. It has not been tightened though so may just be loose. To tighten a barbed wire fence you have to undo all the clips & then use a wire stretcher to pull it tight. We will have to go investigate tomorrow as that is the pasture that Lilly, Hazel & SirLoin are in & I do not want them a wondering off!
So that’s our week - Richard will be home on Sunday & not a moment too soon. Not sure what we’ll be up to tomorrow. Maybe I should wrap us all in cotton wool! LOL!

Thought you might enjoy this pic of some of the turkeys. They have grown so much & we haven’t had one fatality which is quite incredible after the last batch. This lot are out of the pen trying to get back in. They fly out but then do not have the brains to fly back in!

Here is a pic of two Brahma hens & two Banti chicks - same age but check out the size difference:

Have a great weekend,

Liz