Menu Monday

Monday: Beef Pepperoncini

Tuesday: Chicken Ranch Pasta

Wednesday: Pizza Casserole

Thursday: Wiener Schnitzel

Friday: Fish Tacos
Saturday: Hotdogs
Sunday: YoYo (you’re on your own!)

Catechism in a Year!

Pope Benedict XVI has declared that tomorrow starts the Year of Faith!

Here is an awesome link that you can sign up for weekly emails which will take you through the Catechism in a year!  My husband and I are excited to begin this journey.  Every morning you'll receive an email with everything you need to read for that day.

Read the Catechism in a Year

Harvesting (aka Butchering) Chickens

Yesterday we attempted once again to “harvest” our chickens.  A rite of passage for any meat-eating homesteader I would think.  Since I am a novice I have no words of wisdom to impart, just our experiences on the day.

First we put a big pot of water on to boil (Childbirth? Chicken butchering?  The answer is to boil water.)
As you can imagine, “harvesting” any animal is not a Disney sing-along; there is a fair amount of blood and guts involved.  Yet I have decided that my children should observe if they want to be a part of the process because butchering animals is the reality of eating meat.

We had opted out of using a killing cone and instead decided to swaddle the bird in an apron, with its head hanging down as in a YouTube video we (my younger sister MB and I) had watched.  It made sense to me to pet and calm the bird before ending its little life.  Less stress the better, right?  Is there not truth to that in “harvesting” cattle?  Why not chickens?  I believe that as I held it there before the dreaded cut I was able to calm it, and even trust me…with its life. :/  In the end and very possible because I’m new at this and somewhat afraid of anything that moves that’s not human (that’s another post), it might have experienced some stress in the finally moments.  I mean who wouldn't?

My man “harvested” the next one, which if you go visit my sister's blog, My Life as a Platypus, she elaborates in more detail how that one went down. ;)

After the kills were complete, I would say the rest of the process went much better…for the living that is. Scalding, plucking, cleaning, gutting were performed as well as can be expected considering our amateur status.

For the Lord your God will bless you in all your harvest and in all the work of your hands, and you joy will be complete. Deuteronomy 16:15

Coming Back to the Blogging World After a Long Absence

So I have been away for a while. Five years actually...lol. With some encouragement from my sister the Gypsy Queen and her new blog it is only now that that I feel ready to attempt to pick up where I left off. I have several posts pending -- unwritten, as of yet,but I must recognize I cannot do so with the same regularity as in the past. Therefore, I am setting a lower bar for myself -- just two posts a month for now. If I go over that, wonderful. I am viewing this blog as a continually evolving experiment. 

 In the meantime, let me give you some little tidbits to slightly catch you up to speed since my last post.  I have been busy having two more babies (Regina is three and Joshua is 1!), homeschooling, redoing our back yard so that it was more family friendly, during the some time we included a concrete pool which provide a few years of amazing summer fun, and yet after all that, we moved into a larger home further out of town and we are renting out house #1 to Renters To-Good-To-Be-True. God is Good and life is a blessing.  I look forward to once again sharing my joys and even crosses in motherhood because as I say, I'm sure it will be funny tomorrow ..or maybe in about a week. ;)