DayLook: December 13, 2010

For Today:  Monday, December 13, 2010 – Feast Day of St. Lucy

Looking out from my back porch... beautiful covering of snow – perfect for cross-country skiing (if the wind-chill doesn’t keep everyone inside!).

I am thankful for... as I get older (and believe me, the years are creeping up!) I continue to be thankful for our health.  I’m also thankful that my kids know both sets of grand-parents and can spend time with each.  I’m thankful for the simple things, really, and that the complicated things work themselves out in a blessed way.

I am hoping... for a calmness in my day.

From the sewing/craft room (aka. laundry room!)… I do have the lining for Louis’ stocking cut out (no the new fabric didn’t arrive in time – in fact it didn’t arrive at all because it was no longer in stock – so, I purchased lining when I was in Fargo).  I do hope to sew that up this week…

From the school room... we are soooo very ready for a break! 

From the kitchen... fresh bread rising, leftovers for dinner/lunch, thinking about supper-time.  I have pork roast in the fridge … maybe mashed potatoes, gravy & pork roast with a veggie side.  What’s it called when you serve roast, a scoop of mashed potatoes & gravy on top of a slice of bread??  That’s what I’m hungry for today.

State of the house… any tips for washing patio windows when the weather would freeze the water in a jiffy???  The drips on these windows – don’t know how or where – are driving me a little nuts …

A successful moment… the decorations are up and the tree is trimmed. 

A few plans for the rest of the week…
Monday:  school & cleaning

Tuesday:  last dance class of the year for Angelina

Wednesday – December 15, 2010:  My brother, Collin, turns 35 today … and he is exactly 5 years younger than me!  He was the best birthday present – I can still remember waiting for the call.  And when the call came, Grandma answered and then handed the phone to me.  It’s a very special memory even after all these years.  Anyway, we are having dinner with Harm’s, Grant’s, my parents, and my brother and his wife.

Thursday: very little school & a bit of cleaning

Friday/Saturday/Sunday:   baking, cleaning, Christmas Party at church for the kids

A picture memory...

Zeke’s 2009 Birthday present arrived (cross-country skiis), so the older three went out to forge a trail.  LtoR: Angelina, Dash and Zeke.

Graham wanted to go, but I convinced him we would have more fun decorating cookies.  Thank goodness he agreed to stay inside!  He’s the master peppermint sprinkler.

Gingerbread house decorating by Angelina, Graham and Zeke.

Given the choice, I’d choose fraser fir every time, but we don’t have many of them on the farm and the ones we have were quite damaged a couple winters ago.  So, it’s long needle pines for us.  At least this year, they are on a solid surface floor – no needles stuck in the basement carpet!

Above:  Louis didn’t care about the tree too much.  He just wanted to climb the step stool! 

The youngest, who is able, is awarded the job of placing the angel at the top of the tree. 

Crying babe – not time to take a good picture.  He was done!

Weasel update…

The weasel is dead … and so is a rat … and a few mice! 

My husband has been going out each morning to check the chickens (ie. tally up the dead) and the traps.  We’ve caught a few mice, harmless enough to chickens, but had no success with catching the main culprit. 

Yesterday, the traps were baited with leftovers from chicken harvest (liver, etc.)  The darn weasel made my husband livid!  It took the bait, but didn’t set off the trap. 

Today, however, was a different story.  Upon entering, he was relieved to see no dead chickens.  Then, he saw the dead rat.  But, knew that the rat, although a potential predator, was not the animal we were after.  (I, however, am glad to be rid of the rat!). 

Under the straw, under the wire installed yesterday, he saw movement.  The darn weasel had gotten caught in a trap, but had managed to get the trap free of it’s tie-down and was trying to get back to it’s lair. 

It’s dead now.  We are relieved, and we hope the chickens are safe for the rest of the winter.  Eric plans to leave a few traps in the lean-to/barn just in case there is another rat, but we are done with the weasel.

I’d have taken a picture of the weasel, their fur at this time of year is just beautiful, but didn’t think any of you would appreciate pics of dead animals.  And, boy do they smell!  I hope Eric used old gloves to handle the beast.

The Eggnog Fudge…

 

Here’s the link to the Eggnog Fudge … just in case someone wants to try it.

NOTE:  I didn’t have rum extract on hand, so I substituted vanilla.  It’s a very sweet fudge.

DayLook: December 6, 2010

For Today:  Happy St. Nicholas Day!  Monday, December 6, 2010.

Looking out from my back porch... bright sunny day with a beautiful blanket of white, pearly snow.

I am thinking... 1) about the darn weasel who took another Rhode Island Red last night and 2) if I acquire a bell – the kind old-time school teachers used to call the kids in from recess – maybe I would not feel the need to yell be as loud during our days.

I am thankful for... the feast days scattered throughout the calendar year and that we have continued to enjoy good health.

I am reading... books I ordered from Apostolate for Family Consecration – specifically the 2 volume Apostolate’s Family Catechism and Drawing Down Divine Mercy Prayer & Meditation Book.  The artwork in these books is beautiful, and I can see that using the Catechism alongside our Baltimore Catechism for the kids will be very beneficial.

I am hoping...  the darn weasel falls for one of our traps.

From the sewing/craft room (aka. laundry room!)... well, Leo’s stocking is still NOT done.  However, after having pictures of his stocking with shiny satin-looking material, I couldn’t switch to boring cotton!  So, I ordered a yard of shiny to finish his stocking.  I’ll get it done ... after the fabric arrives (and hopefully before next year!).

From the school room... we are winding down for this semester.  As subjects finish up on chapters or sections, I am letting the kids ‘be done’ for the semester.  By next week, we should only have one day – they don’t know it, but I’ve been combining subjects for a few weeks so we can take a few extra days off before and after the ‘planned’ Christmas break.

From the kitchen... Crème de menthe brownies, Choco-mint blossoms, spritz, C.D.’s Cherry Bars, Peppermint Almond Bark, Candy Canes and Egg Nog Fudge were whipped up on Saturday.  I hope to make ginger snaps, divinity & cashew brittle this week.

State of the house... if the snow is covering all the dust, where does the dust in my house come from???  I’m not sure I want to know…

A successful moment... Eric & I moved furniture around ... we plan to place the live Christmas Tree on the main floor this year.

A few plans for the rest of the week…

• Celebrate St. Nicholas’ Feast Day
• Cut down the Christmas tree
• Fortify the chicken coop
• Angelina’s Christmas dance Showcase
• Immaculate Conception of the Blessed Virgin Mary – Feast Day & Mass
• Last Women of Grace meeting for the current year
• Decorate the Christmas Tree
• Santa Day in local town
• Bake more goodies

A picture memory...

... for Thanksgiving, we usually travel to my Aunt’s in northern North Dakota.  My maternal Grandfather hosts the day – it’s an honorary hosting – and my aunts (mainly my mom & her older sister ... my mom’s younger sister gives up her home, after all) cook up a fabulous feast.  We all look forward to this meal and seeing each other, as this is the one time we get-together with this side of the family.

This year, we cancelled the get-together because of forecasted stormy weather.  So, Eric, the kids and I stayed home.  Since we’d had a Thanksgiving themed meal with our 4-H club the previous Sunday, and had been eating Turkey leftovers all week, I didn’t think we’d need to re-do the whole feast.  However, my DARLING daughter, pointed out that “Well, it’s not REALLY Thanksgiving because we didn’t have LEFSE.” 

So, on Thanksgiving Day, she and I made lefse.

... and we were all a little more THANKFUL!

Bitter

 

Anyone who raises chickens knows there are plenty of predators who’d like to make a feast of their birds.  Earlier this week, while on the phone with my MIL, I saw a weasel making it’s way from the farmyard across the field in our backyard.  I mentioned it to my MIL; we talked about trapping; then we didn’t give it another thought. 

We SHOULD have done more.  Friday morn, we lost five chickens (4 Wyandottes & 1 Rhode Island Red).  We were fortunate it was only five.  Weasels can demolish a whole flock in one night.  My FIL, husband & Dash worked to secure the chicken coop and they also set traps. 

We caught a mouse, but no weasel and lost one more Wyandotte sometime before Saturday morning.  So, more work was done to secure the remaining flock of 23 birds.  This evening, my husband researched online to learn more about a weasel’s habits and hopefully how to defeat this cunning predator.  I hope we catch it, but I’ll never feel as secure about the safety of our flock. 

Update:  The safety measures have worked for a night.  Sunday morn, we hadn’t lost any more chickens.  We will need to be much more diligent, though, about checking the coop and surrounding perimeter.

December!

Happy December!  I missed saying Happy Advent & Happy Thanksgiving … I was just too involved with the living of life in our active household to get online much the last couple weeks for anything beyond a DayLook type entry/post.

This is my favorite month of all.  Besides Advent and Christmas, it includes my birthday and wedding anniversary.  December is a month of wonderful celebrations and there is something to look forward to in each week.  I enjoy the snow; this  year I hope to actually learn to cross-country ski in our backyard.  In a strange twist, Dash’s ski boots from last year are my size and he needed new boots (he’s not taller than me, but his feet are longer than mine)!  The boots are made such that they are interchangeable with the skis; works well in a large family.  We won’t be skiing at the same time, but that’s okay. 

We are taking the day off from school on the Solemnity of the Immaculate Conception.  It took me a few years of homeschooling to realize that it’s ok and important to celebrate these important feast days by taking the day off from school.  Even if we don’t have awesome activities planned (like some bloggers write about!), at least we are able to participate in daily Mass.

Well, back to real life.  While I’d love to stay in this escape mode a while longer, the kids are getting louder with each keystroke…