For Labor Day - Fresh Meat

If you are squeamish about normal homesteading activities, like butchering, you might want to close your browser now and avoid today's post. I understand it can be a difficult topic to read about, especially when you aren't expecting it, hence my disclaimer.

People are so disconnected from their food in today's society. If we couldn't buy our meat in neat little packages from the store, I dare say a huge majority of us would become vegetarians. Not to mention many people wouldn't know the first thing about growing their own vegetables!

A long time ago, I decided if I am going to eat meat, then it's hypocritical of me to not learn to process our own homegrown meat. I'm not fond of butchering, but I am glad that we learned this important self-sufficiency task. It's not fun, but once the kill is done, it's not much different from cutting up a fresh chicken from the store.

There are no pictures in this post, and the content is not really very graphic, I just know that most folks don't want to read or know about butchering, so here's your warning.

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You've been warned. Proceed at your own risk.

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You lost your chance. Continue on, you brave soul.

We decided to butcher one of our goats to barbecue on Labor Day. We decided to get the processing done on Saturday as it's kind of stressful.

I was amazed at how much fat this young goat contained. We have never processed one this young. He was three months old, and was still living with his dam (and trying to breed her as they become sexually active as young as 8 weeks of age)! We have heard that milk fed animals taste different (think veal). Except I've heard that veal is produced under inhumane conditions (small cages where they can barely move around and kept in the dark).

The amount of fat contained in this buckling intrigued me, and I decided to try rendering fat.

Kev did the kill this time. I don't like that part. We learned that the goats "choke out" easily, just by accident. The first time scared me really badly. I was doing hoof trims, this was before we got our nice metal milking stand. I had the doe tied up to the fence and was working on her back feet and she started leaning against me very heavily. I looked over at her, annoyed, and saw that she was leaning against me, because she had fainted. The reason why is because she'd been leaning really hard against her collar and she cut off the flow of blood to her brain which caused her to pass out. I was so scared that she was dead and freaked out pretty good. But once I unhooked her collar from the fence and she fell to the ground and blood began flowing into her brain, she was okay, just a little disoriented.

A few times I've had the goats pulling on their collars so hard when I'm trying to put them back into the pen after milking that they have almost choked themselves out. They almost fall down but then they shudder like they are having a seizure. It's scary, because I'm afraid to hang onto them, and then they figure that out, and won't go where I want them to go.

Anyway, Kev got the idea to try putting a goat down in this way, as it seems to be humane since the animal faints due the loss of blood to the brain. He says it was much easier than trying to use the gun.

I'm usually present at the kill, but this time I told dh and Kev that I wanted them to call me when they had the kid hung. They got the young goat bled and hung; and I skinned, gutted and quartered it. Once the kill is done, I'm okay.

I harvested the liver, the heart, the kidneys, and by special request from one of our church brethren, the Rocky Mountain Oysters. Usually we castrate our young males, but we had a special request, so I was asked to not band this youngster.

I attempted to render the fat. I will link to the before photo so it won't be right there IN YOUR FACE. It's not really that bad, think liposuction. Oooooohhhh, no better? Sorry, sorry.

Here's the after photo:
Until next time.

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Baked Spinach with Eggs

Our hens are beginning to lay with fervor! Back in March we ordered some pullets and they are now mature enough to begin laying. Along with our older hens, we are getting ten to sixteen eggs again. Time to start using more eggs in our meals.

Last night I tried this recipe, Baked Spinach and Eggs. I love spinach and this recipe turned out to be a winner.

The original recipe is linked above, but I altered it slightly.


1/4 cup butter
1 onion, peeled and chopped
2 cloves garlic, minced
1 pound frozen spinach
1/2 teaspoon salt
1 cup shredded mozzarella cheese, divided use
1/2 teaspoon paprika
1/4 teaspoon ground black pepper
1/8 teaspoon ground nutmeg
4 large eggs
1/4 cup milk

1. Preheat oven to 350°F (175°C). Lightly grease a medium baking dish, I used a 9" x 9" square glass dish.

2. In a cast iron skillet, melt butter over medium heat. Add onion and garlic and sauté for 2 to 3 minutes to soften. Add spinach and salt. Reduce heat to low. Cover and steam for 10 minutes; remove from heat.

3. Sprinkle half of the mozzarella cheese in the bottom of prepared baking dish. Spoon in spinach mixture and sprinkle with paprika, pepper and nutmeg.

4. In a medium bowl, beat together egg and milk; pour over spinach mixture. Top with remaining mozzarella cheese. Bake until the cheese bubbles, about 20-30 minutes. Let stand at least 5 minutes before cutting.

I heated up the leftover pieces this morning in the toaster oven.

Until next time.

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Down Syndrome

As most of you know, my eldest son has Down Syndrome.

I find it ironic that both the Democratic and Republican presidential nominees have a child with Down Syndrome in the mix.

Republican presidential candidate John McCain announced earlier today that Alaska governor Sarah Palin will be his running mate. Mrs. Palin recently gave birth to a baby boy with Down Syndrome, and she knew the child she was carrying had an extra chromosome in every cell of his body.

She knew in December. But she chose to carry her baby to term, birth him and love him like the awesome human being he already is.

Contrast that with Barak Obama, who doesn't know when life begins, who embraces abortion of his own grandchildren, and who listened to the testimony of a hospital nurse who cradled a dying baby boy aborted because he had Down Syndrome and had been thrown away to die alone, and still chose to block the Born Alive Infant Protection Act.

The older I get, the less tolerant I find myself becoming. How can any human being think it's okay to kill an innocent baby? There shouldn't be a right to choose, to play God. I want to know when we draw the line? People with Down Syndrome are innocent humans. Yet it's considered acceptable to protect yourself from hardship to kill your baby. I guess we actually don't draw the line. Any woman can abort her child at any point in the pregnancy, even at full term. What's wrong with people?

I guess it's because they've been educated to believe that a baby isn't a baby, until he or she is actually out of his or her mother's body, breathing air through his or her lungs. Prior to that, he or she is simply a fetus. A blob of nothing. Well, newborn babies are pretty blobby if you ask me. Why do we prosecute women who let their babies die after they are born? What's the difference?

Today, as I watched John McCain announced his running mate, tears were streaming down my face. I don't quite know why, but I know much of my emotion had to do with the fact that Mrs. Palin chose to keep and love her baby when many other men and women are taking the cowardly way out and choosing to kill their baby for equally cowardly reasons. Because they don't want a child, or don't want another child, or some other superficial reason. I guess about the worst one I ever heard was the child won't be able to live up to his or her full potential. Wow. Talk about expectations. I sure hope people with that outlook are able to withstand it when their "perfect" children make some mistakes, or don't become a doctor or lawyer, or whatever that full potential would be.

Years ago I had a friend whose parents forced her to have an abortion that she didn't want. Let me share with you a poem that she wrote - watch out, it's pretty heart wrenching:

She was just sixteen when she learned why
She had that little twinkle in her eye

The man did not want any part of it
and ended contact ... every last bit

She was frightened and felt all alone
So she sought help from within her own home

Alcohol played havoc on the addicted ones mind
Her parents made decisions that were shrewd and unkind

Without regard to her plight
Her feelings or her own right

Decisions were made based on her well being
Never stopping to ask her what she was feeling

They found a loophole in an old law
That allowed killing, the solution, they saw

So statutory rape they sought out to prove
To eliminate the shame, so she would not have to move

She was put through rigorous testing
Interminable questions, never resting

The child within her still safe and sound
Physical changes began, a heartbeat was found

She planned for this child to be loved like no other
She prepared for its future and the love of its mother

Then the court made the decision within the right time frame
To allow the procedure with the least danger or fame

To the hospital she was transported
To have the child within her aborted

To be with child in one moment
Suddenly without child and no comment

The next day she was told
By her parents so bold

How much they had helped her out
And would not allow her to cry or shout

But all along from her own perspective
She always had willed for her child to live

So silently she grieved, for her child she did mourn
Desperately longing for her child to have been born

New laws came into effect including Roe vs Wade
Then the right to lifers spoke out with comments they made

They detailed the procedures ... how the child would be shred
And opened the wounds of her loss and the child that was dead

She finally cried out to her God, her Lord
With all the emotion her heart could afford

Asking forgiveness for her part in the destruction
That detestable deed long ago, the abortion

God in His loving kindness and His ever gentle way
Reached down and comforted her and He proceeded to say

You didn't destroy the life, all involved have been forgiven
Your first beloved baby was born straight into heaven

Of your child, your first born
Take comfort young mother, don't mourn

Let precious visions of him be all you see
'Till you see him again ... with Me

Until next time.

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93 Things Grandma Loved - #7 Black Olives

It is coming up on the one year anniversary of my Grandma passing from this world into her heavenly home above. My mom is still having a very hard time dealing with the loss of her mother.

Grandma always had cans of Early Californian Black Olives on the shelf. She would break open a can and all of us children would mill around waiting for her to put olives on each of our fingers. It was a giant treat; I don't remember my mother ever having black olives on hand just for eating! I mean, she bought them for cheese enchiladas, but never as a snack or treat.

Whenever I eat black olives, I always remember Grandma.

I love you, Grandma.

Until next time.

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93 Things Grandma Loved - #6 Cantaloupe

I don't know how she did it, but Grandma ALWAYS had a ripe cantaloupe on hand whenever we came over to visit. It must be my imagination, because 30-40 years ago if cantaloupe wasn't in season, it wasn't available for eating. Nowadays of course we can get just about anything we want anytime of the year just by going to the local grocery store. Sadly, cantaloupe doesn't taste as delicious as it did when I was a youngster. Is it my aging tastebuds? It used to be so succulent, juicy and sweet. Now they don't seem to have that same sweet taste. I do know how to pick them - press the end and it should have just a bit of give. That indicates if the melon is ripe.

On the day we had my Grandma's memorial, my sister Dee Elle brought several ripe cantaloupes. After the memorial, several family members stuck around and we had a little picnic together right in the parking lot. That was a nice remembrance of Grandma.

Love ya, Grandma.

Until next time.

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93 Things Grandma Loved - #5 Red Rope Licorice

Grandma always had Red Rope licorice on hand when we visited. I hated black licorice, and I don't remember her having that. The popular red licorice now seems to be Twizzlers. It's okay, but doesn't bring back the memories of the Red Rope licorice. Kev and I were in town the other night and I spotted it. He persuaded me to buy three ropes in memory of my Grandma.

Grandma, I look forward to seeing you when we all get to heaven. I love you.

Until next time.

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Look at this Goofy Cat

The other night Tiger jumped onto my chest and wanted to be petted. Normally he doesn't fancy my affections, preferring the men of the house over me. Hmph. Sometimes he'll allow me to pet him, but he won't purr. Tonight he was purring and he stretched out his paws to touch each side of my face as he fell to sleep. Goofy cat.

Kev also got an awesome sky photo. The sun was setting and you could see the rain pouring from the storm clouds not too far away.
Until next time.

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Carrot Spice Muffins

I cannot believe I haven't blogged about this long time favorite: Carrot Spice Muffins. I had a better photo, taken when they were fresh out of the oven, but between my camera cards and Kev's, we can't seem to locate the photo, so this is the one I took while we were at camp.

When we went to camp a couple of weeks ago, I got up early so I could make a batch of these goodies to share.

I've been making them since my sister Dee Elle discovered them many years ago when our children were very young. She went on a muffin making spree and I think she tried every muffin recipe in the cookbook. The recipe comes from the La Leche League International Cookbook Whole Foods for the Whole Family. My version was published in 1981 with ISBN 0-912500-09-3.

Carrot Spice Muffins

• 1-1/2 c. whole wheat flour (I ground the summer wheat berries that morning, which dh recently acquired, so the flour would be full of nutrition)
• 1 t. baking soda
• 1 t. baking powder
• 1/2 t. sea salt
• 1/2 t. ground cinnamon
• 1/2 t. ground nutmeg (freshly ground with microplane)
• 1/8 t. ground ginger (I actually couldn't find ground ginger, so I omitted this item)
• 1/8 t. allspice
• 1/3 c. honey
• 1/2 c. yogurt (luckily I had fresh-made yogurt from our goat's milk on hand)
• 1/3 c. butter
• 1/2 t. vanilla (I make my own vanilla)
• 1-1/2 c. grated carrots
• 1/2 c. raisins (I bought golden raisins because I like those in these muffins over the dark raisins)
• 1/2 c. chopped walnuts
  

Measure dry ingredients into a large bowl. Mix wet ingredients in another bowl with carrots, raisins and nuts. Add to dry mix, stirring only until flour is moistened. Place in greased muffin tins and bake for 15 minutes at 400°F. Makes 1 dozen muffins.

Until next time.

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Doing a Workout

Just a quick update today.

I don't want to jinx myself, but I think I am beginning to feel better. I have been faithful to my new vitamin protocol since the 4th. Last night I actually felt enough ambition to dig out our Total Gym (it was piled up with stuff, courtesy of my dear husband) and did a few minutes worth of a workout for the first time in months.

I also ordered some thyroid herbs and supplements today, that should be on the way soon.

Ds1 needs to have blood drawn so we're planning an overnight stay in town, going out to dinner and to the movies. He wants to see The Dark Knight.

I hurt my heel doing a Taebo kickboxing workout with ds1 and finally broke down and ordered a night splint to wear, well, at night. That should be arriving soon.

I think I'll take my hank of yarn and try to cocoon it while at the hotel.

Until next time.

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Chicken Salad

I was on for kitchen duty last Saturday. Ever since Ree over at The Pioneer Woman posted her Chicken Salad recipe I've been wanting to make some type of chicken salad for dinner.

She puts grapes in her chicken salad. I've never done that before, but since my tastebuds seem to be changing, it actually sounded good.

I didn't use Ree's chicken salad recipe though. Here's what I did...

First I prepared some boneless, skinless chicken breasts. They were on sale at Safeway for $1.69 a pound, so $5.07 for the bag.

I trimmed the fat and other weird stuff from the chicken breast. I sprinkled salt and pepper on each piece as I laid them into a bowl and then let them set for a while.

I grilled the chicken breasts. I love grilling. Especially when it means I don't have to heat up the house cooking. It rained for a few minutes on Saturday, the sun was shining and it was pouring rain. So it was not too terribly hot out when I grilled. Kev received it as a gift for Christmas in 2006 from his granny and grandpa (dh's parents).

Next I made a salad.

5 leaves of red leaf lettuce, washed and torn into bits
1/2 a head of iceberg lettuce, washed and torn into bits
1 cucumber, halved and sliced
2 avocados, diced

We had red grapes on hand, so I cut a bunch of those in half.

Then I made homemade Ranch dressing.

1/2 cup mayonnaise
1 cup homemade plain yogurt
1 clove garlic, crushed
1 teaspoon granulated onion powder
1 teaspoon dried parsley flakes
salt and pepper to taste

I tossed the lettuce, avocado and cucumber.

I put some salad in individuals bowls, then cut some chicken breast into strips and added that into the bowl, then tossed in some red grapes.

Lastly I spooned some Ranch dressing over the salad.

Very delicious. Everyone was impressed and there was even a bowl leftover for my lunch Sunday after church.

Until next time.

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Gorgeous Yarn Find

Kev and I had a great time at church camp last week. Exhausting, but definitely worth it.

Before we left, I stopped at Savers to pick up some suitcases. I found three nice ones for $7.99, $6.99 and $4.99. They nest into each other, this will be great for storage purposes.

I am also so excited about this delectable yarn that I found:

The original tag shows that the two hanks of Country Silk retailed for $24.99. I can't believe someone didn't snatch this up before me - Savers had it marked for only $2.99!! The Savers tag says it came into their store on the 17th, and I found it on the 29th.


While at camp, I tried twice to wind it into a Jacqueline Fee Japanese Yarn Cocoon as demonstrated at Elka Knits. The first attempt Kev was helping me by holding the yarn around his forearms as we sat in our room with the door open. Kev defended his manliness at least twice, explaining that he doesn't knit to fellow brethren who dropped by to see what we were doing. Kev, dear, just in case you don't know, manly men do knit.

I decided against making a ordinary ball since they roll around and I like trying something brand new. Besides, it just sounded so neat. Making a cocoon. Neat!

I only got about a third cocooned before it was time for the evening worship, so I left it for later. Which I then realized I had been wrapping the yarn the wrong way, so I started all over. I wasn't able to make much headway, but I did figure out the correct way to wrap it.

I'd really hoped to have it cocooned in time for the trip home, but never found any more time to work on it.

In addition to the Elka Knits tutorial, I found mention of Jacqueline Fee's Japanese Yarn Cocoon method over at Knit the Knits and she actually found a site - Yarnerinas - which had a video of the procedure! After watching the video I know I now have the process down correctly. Now to find the time to cocoon the lovely yarn.

I am thinking about making a coverlet to wear in the fall, using this pattern Gothic Leaf Lace. I did actually experiment with the pattern on the drive to camp, but I used a two-colored yarn and it is difficult to see the pattern.

I love this Gothic Leaf Stole by Sivia Harding, but I think my yarn is too thick. Here is another link to the Gothic Leaf Stole by Sivia Harding, this is an absolutely stunning stole. Wow. I need to buy some thinner yarn, lol.

Here is another Gothic Leaf Pattern which looks nothing like my attempt with the lace pattern mentioned above. This is another pattern I love, Lace Wrap but again, my yarn is too thick.

Until next time.

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Mmmmm, Liverwurst

A post à la The Pioneer Woman Cooks.

Growing up I hated liver. Despised it. I think a good deal of the problem is the way my momma prepared and served it. I won't go into details as I'm sure if you are a liver hater you have more than enough memories without my adding any. I will say that it was my stepfather's favorite meal, served alongside mustard greens, cornbread and black-eyed peas. All with no butter, mind you. It was the driest combination of foods you could put together on a plate.

Anyway, in my teen years, I lived with a foster family and the mother prepared liver very occasionally, but it was much more tolerable prepared by her recipe. First off, she bought baby beef liver (my mother didn't) and she'd boil it in oil with onions. It was actually edible. This woman also loved liverwurst and braunschweiger, which I think are the same thing. Basically it's pork liver, similar to pâté. Now when people hear pâté, they think that's something special. But it's just a meat paste; pâté de foie gras is made from goose liver.

As a child, I vowed I would never buy liver, nor have it in my home. I'm sure I lumped liverwurst in there, too. But when I came to the theory of Nourishing Traditions and Weston A. Price Foundation, and found that liver is considered a superfood, I began to rethink my childhood vow. I still have a hard time eating liver, but I think more often about having it. I also look forward to the times we butcher as liver tastes better fresh.

A couple of months ago, my boss brought in some braunschweiger to share since she can't eat the whole roll by herself and her hubby doesn't care for it. Several of us were lucky enough to partake in the feast of liverwurst sandwiches and I had forgotten how much I really enjoy it. I decided to buy a roll yesterday and I can take it in to share with my boss.

But enough of the tittle-tattle*, on with my post!

First, the cast of characters:
Rye bread, yellow mustard, mayonnaise, Braunschweiger, Muenster cheese and onion.

Slice right through the packaging, oops, I forgot I'm not supposed to use my favorite, recently sharpened knife for cutting meat. Apparently this is the VEGETABLE knife, according to Kev.

I continued slicing after switching to the MEAT knife.

Arrange the slices onto your rye bread.

Slather mayonnaise on top of the liverwurst, then layer some thinly sliced onions. Sweet onions grow very well in Arizona, did you know that? But I digress. On the other slice of bread, squirt out some mustard, then one slice of Muenster. Why Muenster? I don't know, I just thought it would taste good. Then some more onions. Mmmm.

And there you have it: Liverwurst Sandwich on Rye with Muenster and onions.

A slice of pickle goes exceptionally well with this sandwich. This sandwich is amazingly delicious.

I'm going to be a hero at work next Tuesday morning. :-)

Until next time.
*The Word of the Day on August 9th, 2008: tittle-tattle.

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Zucchini Soup

This is one of my favorite things to have for breakfast on the weekend.

Ingredients:
Two medium sized zucchini, sliced 1" thick
1/2 cup milk
butter
cheddar cheese, shredded
salt
pepper

Place in a pan with an inch of water at the bottom. Cook for 15-20 minutes on medium heat until you can push through the edge of one of the slices easily. Basically you want the zucchini to be soft enough that you can easily mash it with a fork.

When it's done, drain off the water. Add in 1/2 cup milk, butter, shredded cheddar cheese, and salt and pepper to taste.




Until next time.

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New Additions to My CafePress Shop

I decided it was time to take some time and add some more products to my CafePress shop, Herd Queen Productions.

I added new items yesterday and today - mostly paper products, rather than clothing for most of the items.


Take a look and let me know what you think about the new designs. I am really excited about my masculine card series "Hooked On You". I have more photos along that line.

Until next time.

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Today I Feel Like Cooking

I feel a little bit more energetic today, and decided to try using up as much of the day's milk as I could. We got almost one gallon for the house milk, so I took my cultures out of the freezer to see if there was anything simple. I decided to make a quart of buttermilk and three cups of sour cream. The sour cream culture calls for light cream or half and half, but I have tried using milk in the past and it turned out just a little runny - it's supposed to make a quart, so I'm going to try using only three cups and see if it thickens up better.

I've got a piece of London Broil thawing on the counter. I'm thinking something with curry powder, but not sure what yet. Do mangoes and curry powder go together?

The oddest thing has happened to me in the last couple of years. I remember when I was a child, the idea of pork chops and applesauce, or any kind of sweet sour meat was just disgusting and gross. But now, it tastes good to me.

I also decided to make Baked Maple Egg Custard. I was thinking about making a pudding to turn into ice cream, but I think I'm going to really start trying to avoid white flour and cornstarch. I am just too tired all the time for this to be normal, I seem to be affected by the foods I eat.


I'm thinking about trying these supplements:

Dr. Ron's Sea Vegetable Plus - Nutrients for a Healthy Thyroid
Doc's Best Multi - the next generation
And the adrenals formula on this page
Organ Delight
And the Thyroid supplement on this page

The only problem is they are crazy expensive!

Until next time.

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A Few Things That Happened Today

Something's up with Blogger and Firefox today. I stopped using Internet Explorer some time ago, and much prefer Firefox. But when I logged in and tried to make a post, this is what I was met with:Quite a mess. I tried shutting Firefox down and reopening, but got the same gibberish. I could have made a post and published it, but there was no way to upload photos. And that's why I'm here today. To share what we got today. Dh was reading one of the local newspapers which mentioned a vegetable and fruit coop was coming to a nearby city. I contacted the group through the website and discovered that they actually have two drop off locations in our area. So we signed up for one box. This is what we got: 5 pickling cucumbers
10 limes
1 honeydew melon
1 butterleaf lettuce
6 medium russet potatoes
9 red plums
8 nectarines
11 large carrots
7 red onions
4 bosc pears
5 mangoes
7 bananas
5 tomatoes

Our basket cost under $20. It is supposed to $50 worth of fruits and vegetables, and they say it will last a family of four for two weeks.

On the way to pick up our basket - which by the way we spent $6.89 for the round trip into town and back home for gas - a lady was putting out yard sale signs. Dh had to go to a job today and was leaving as soon as he dropped me off. I asked him if he thought that lady might have anything good for sale. I guess I ask the question that way because I don't really care one way or the other if we go and see? He said it wouldn't take that long to look, so we followed the signs. She had bullhead sticker plants all over her yard. I am SO glad we don't have them on our property. I have pulled up several of them and keep my eyes peeled for them and remove them if I see any of them. Dh's sister's property is practically a farm of the horrible things.

At the yard sale, I saw a pile of towels. Lots of nice, thick, mostly purple towels. I asked how much she wanted for the towels - she only wanted fifty cents each! They aren't brand new, and have some strings hanging on some of them, but they are better than most of the towels we are currently using! The three on the left are large beach towels, one is yellow striped and the other is a hot pink striped, then a purple one on top of that. In the next pile there is a thick, soft maroon towel at the bottom, and three matching lavendar towels on top. The next pile there are three purple towels with four hand towels, and the pile on the right there are four thick, soft deep purple towels. In the front row there are six washclothes. She was asking for ten cents each for the hand towels and washclothes!

I also saw this Singer Tiny Serger and asked how much she wanted for it... four dollars! The only problem is we didn't have any cash left as we'd used the last $8 in dollars and change buying the towels and washclothes. So I asked dh if he wouldn't mind running back by her place on his way out. He was happy to do that, so she held it for me. Now I have read some good reviews about this little machine, and some terrible reviews. It didn't come with the manual, which could be a problem. I hope I can get it to work! If you know how I can get a manual for it, or if you happen to own one, and have a manual for it, I'd sure be grateful for a scanned copy! Here is a beautiful photo of the sunrise I was able to capture the other morning.
My doctor's appointment was on June 20th, and yesterday I received a call from the office that schedules referrals. This was to schedule a mammogram. I wish I could be like many people seem to be, happy that their doctor wants them to radiate their breasts just in case. I hate having all these stupid tests and frankly it just stresses me out to know that my doctor wants me to have them done. She acted like I'm the stupid one, and indeed many people would probably think that way about me, because I haven't been getting tests done all these past few years.

How do you find a doctor that is there for you when YOU want them for something, and leaves you alone the rest of the time? And doesn't put your files into the archive area?

I asked if my blood test results had been returned and I was routed to an answering machine to leave my name and number. The only reason I even went to the doctor was to get the referral to my asthma/allergy specialist. I wonder what he would charge if I just went straight to him without a referral and paid out of my own pocket? If I didn't have asthma I wouldn't be seeing him either. Really, I'm just fine without all these doctors.

I know I have the right to ask for my test results so I can examine them myself, but it is difficult to work up the energy to do something as stressful as that. You're probably asking, what's so stressful? Well, I have to go in and ask. Working up the nerve to do that in itself is stressful.

I've been putting together a brochure for our church in the past few weeks, and I made a really glaring mistake on the front. I was mortified and called our pastor immediately and he had JUST come from the printers, having printed up 200 brochures. I told him I'd pay for the mistake and I've printed them myself, and have also merged addresses for mailing, and have been folding them.

Kev and I are going to church camp this summer. I hope that will be relaxing, and not one more stressful thing. Today as we were going to pick up our vegetable and fruit basket, I found myself wishing I could get my garden going again. I have had so much trouble with the critters out here it is a lot of work to keep them from eating everything up. The entire garden is fenced with chicken wire, the top and the sides, and the last time I gardened the gophers dug their way under and were pulling vegetables into the ground by their roots.

We're getting quite a bit of milk now. Almost one gallon is coming into the house every day, I freeze half a gallon every day from the previous day. We are getting another gallon or so which we divide up between the dogs and the chickens. We had flies for a time and so we were milking at 3am every single morning, even on the days we didn't have to go to work. I think that is what just about did me in. I would sometimes come in and go back to bed by 5am, but it is very hard for me to get up that early every single day without a break.

Dh started another sideline to his business and we're trying to get that off the ground. I've ordered business cards, and created websites for the two businesses. Dh's been doing some cold calls for the second business, hoping to drum up some business. He's got one contact that seems like it will turn into a good opportunity.

Okay, Kev fixed Firefox for me. He hit F5 and did a refresh and now it's working okay. Thanks, Kev!

Also, he edited a short movie I took while outside in the afternoon. Enjoy.

Until next time.

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Happy 4th of July, America!

Happy Fourth of July! Our wonderful country is celebrating 232 years of freedom from the Kingdom of Great Britain.

I was invited by one of my good friends to come to her 4th of July pool party. I made three kinds of goat cheese (vinegar cheese made into basil/green onion, jalapeno/garlic and plain), a fruit bowl with honeydew melon, cantaloupe and green grapes, and dh made a dozen cupcakes which we decorated with cranraisins and dried blueberries.

I talked with ds1 about going to a pool party and going to see fireworks and he said he would go with me as dh and ds2 didn't want to.

But then I started feeling like crap - my nose was running and I kept sneezing and sneezing. Also I'd slept wrong and my neck had a crick in it. The CEO of our company rarely gets sick but this past week he kept sneezing as he was walking down the hallways. As the days went by he developed a cough so I thought great, I must be getting what he had. I was pretty sure my friend's elderly grandma would be in attendance, and maybe her young nieces and nephews, not to mention her young son, so I didn't want to get everyone else sick if I was contagious.

I laid down to take a nap around noon and just felt crappy. I was tired but my nose was clogged so it was hard to get to sleep. I took extra Vitamin C, echinachea/goldenseal, and some aspirin for my neck.

I hate making these decisions. Am I getting sick or not? Should I go? If I go and I'm getting sick, I'll get sick for sure. If it's just allergies I'll be okay. But what if it's a cold? I'm going to wear myself and I'll be sick for days. I believe if you feel like you have a cold coming on, and you take it easy, get rest and take Vitamin C and echinachea your body can actually fight off the infection. But if you just keep pushing yourself, then you will get sicker for sure.

My friend has been inviting me over for holiday parties for the last eight months and I've never been able to go to even one. I managed to attend her wedding! LOL. I was REALLY looking forward to swimming, too. And seeing fireworks for once in I don't know how many years. The fourth of July is one of my favorite holidays. I don't think I've gotten to go and see them for at least five years.

Finally around 4pm I decided to text my friend and let her know I wasn't coming, and apologized. It's not like she'll be upset really, I just had tried to go this time, tried really hard. She said I didn't have to bring anything, but I can't go to a party without bringing some goodies. And I know she and her family and friends would appreciate the goat cheese. It really turned out delicious. The milk has been tasting really good lately. Well, I just realized that is because Miss L is back on the milking line. She's always had the best tasting milk.

I finally hauled myself out of bed around 5pm and I'm not sneezing any longer. I really wanted to try getting some photos of fireworks this year with my new camera, so I asked dh if he would take me out. It will be the first time we've seen fireworks as a remarried couple.

The photo above is one I took a few weeks ago while attending a conference in town - I didn't have a tripod with me, that is why it is blurry. I guess they were doing test fireworks. I love fireworks.

Until next time.

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An Attempt at Getting Better

My asthma/allergy specialist likes me to come in 2-3 times a year. My asthma is mild so I'm not sure why I have to come in so often... I'm sure it just because it makes him money. In order for me to see him, I have to get a referral from my PCP (primary care physician). For the past year or so they've been giving the referral without making me come in to the office, but this time they said I'd have to come in since it's been such a long time.

My doctor left some time ago to practice in a different city so I have not been thrilled over the prospect of seeing a different doctor. In spite of the fact that he suggested depression medication when my thyroid test came back normal I liked him because he left me alone. My visits with him were basically, "How's it going? Fine? Okay, here's your referral, see you next year." And that was that.

I made an appointment and went in last Friday.

I do NOT like my new doctor and I am going to see if I can work up enough energy to find a new one.

I refuse to rehash every little annoying thing that came from her mouth. I will mention the two good things. 1) She agreed to do a full thyroid panel test, 2) she didn't say a word about my weight.

The standard thyroid test very often comes back normal and so it is sometimes a fight to get one's doctor to listen to them and do the full test. So that at least is a positive outcome for this visit.

I went in strictly to get my referral. I have been trying to work up the energy to get my thyroid checked at a different doctor's office, I guess also trying to come up with the money since my insurance probably wouldn't have covered it. But now the test will be done and my insurance will pay for it. Just a couple of weeks ago I was asking myself how long was I going to continue to live like this? With barely enough energy to get through each day. I do have energy sometimes - for 2 or sometimes 3 days in a row but it comes rarely. I used to experience it monthly, but now it is more like 3 months to 4 months before I get another energy burst.

I have mixed feelings, because I don't like taking medication. And I believe there are ways to naturally improve thyroid function but I am at such a low energy level that I can't do much. So I am hoping that my doctor will agree that I could use help with my thyroid. If she doesn't, at least I have the test results and can go to another doctor who might interpret the results differently.

I have also suspected that my adrenals are exhausted. Adrenal fatigue can make thyroid function worse.

I have slowly been reading this long article The Adrenal Glands. It is quite fascinating to me. One of the many paragraphs that drew my attention was "Adrenal Fatigue and Craving for Salt". I am known for my love of salt. Is it because my adrenals have always been fatigued?

I remember my life being one stressful situation after the other from the time I was five years old and my father abandoned us. My mother's life was very stressful starting at the age of four. Could my mother's adrenals have been exhausted during pregnancy?

Pregnancy is quite a stressor for many women. A common occurrence, however, is the woman who, upon reaching her third trimester of pregnancy, says that she all of a sudden “feels better than I have felt in years.” This is often the case when the first two trimesters were particularly difficult. The fetus’s adrenal glands mature to the point of being able to produce hormones at about the beginning of the third trimester. If the mother is in the exhaustion stage of the GAS, it is not uncommon for the baby’s adrenals to try to make enough adrenal hormones for both the baby and the mother. The mother feels great. The baby’s adrenals are really supporting the mother’s adrenals. But the baby’s adrenal glands are being stressed before it is even born! The results are doubly negative. The baby is born in a state of adrenal depletion and often exhibits symptoms of hypoadrenia. These symptoms may be varied, but two of the more common symptoms are allergies and recurrent infections. During chronic stress states, the thymus and other lymphatic structures atrophy, lowering the capabilities of the body’s immune mechanisms.

Likewise, with the support of the baby’s adrenals pulled out from under her, the mother is dropped back into a state of adrenal exhaustion. This accounts for the common occurrence of “post partum blues” or even psychosis. Quite frequently, both mother and child must be treated for hypoadrenia.

Look at what they say about the connection between asthma and hypoadrenia:

Any person who has abnormal lung function, especially asthma or bronchitis, should be checked for hypoadrenia. This is particularly true if the person’s symptoms are relieved by using an epinephrine inhaler. The muscles related to the lungs (deltoid, serratus anterior, etc.) are usually strong in these persons. Many lung problems are related more to the adrenals than to the lungs.

And this bit about hypoglycemia:

Hypoglycemia, without proper snack and meal placement, also encourages overeating when food is available. The overeating causes rapid weight gain because the increased insulin is circulating in your blood, ready to usher that excess energy (glucose) from the extra food into your fat cells where it can be stored as fat. Even though you may not like its effects, this is an elegant compensatory mechanism that has helped us survive.

This is me right here. I know I have to keep myself fed properly but it is hard sometimes and I get tired of having to keep food at hand. The worst time for me is the trip home after work. I am so hungry and by the time I get home I'm ravenous. I don't feel like I'm being "encouraged" to overeat by my body, it feels more like possession. I feel possessed and it is difficult to control my hunger.

There are many more things in this article that caught my attention and resonated with my experience.

I have renewed my attempts to take better care of myself, here is what I've been doing:

• Taking my vitamins. A multi-vitamin, B50 Complex, Cod Liver Oil, Dessicated Liver tablets, Vitamin C.
• I've started taking my kefir again. I'm not pushing myself too hard, I'm only taking 1/4 cup each day.
  
• I've avoided coffee this entire week even though I've been sleepy during the day. I don't drink coffee regularly, but I do when I'm feeling sleepy as a "pick me up" but this article states that caffeine is very hard on our adrenals (which duh, I already know that). I can only tolerate about four ounces at a time because any more than that makes me very shaky.
  
• I've been going to bed early and trying to get more sleep. Usually I can only stay in bed 7 hours but I seem to be doing better. The last two days I've actually been able to sleep 8 hours. This means I need to get into bed at 6:30pm so I can get up at 3am.
  
• Three mornings ago, I began drinking 3 cups of room temperature water upon waking each morning with 1/2 teaspoon of Redmond's Real Salt mixed in. This is so interesting because normally if I'd drink that much water I'd be in the bathroom getting rid of it. But with the salt in there, it isn't affecting me that way - and it is very tasty, love the salt! I read about a Japanese "cure" on this site, search for the phrase "It is popular in Japan" which says to drink 4 cups of water upon wakening and it's supposed to heal several diseases, including diabetes and high blood pressure within 30 days. Well, I'm not sure if it can do that but I decided to try drinking water in the morning just to see how I'd feel. They don't say to drink salt, but the adrenal article says not to drink large amounts of water without salting it. The site with the Japanese "cure" looks a bit hokey, I must admit.
  
• I'm trying to avoid sugar and excessive carbohydrates.
  
• I'm trying to eat smaller portions. I bought some salad plates tonight to use as dinner plates. We'll see if that works to trick myself into eating less. :-)
  

I know the salt thing probably sounds real crazy, after all, salt is really horrible for us, right? Read about salt on the Redmond's site and you'll see that real salt is actually good for you.

I'm not sure when my test results will be back. I haven't heard anything yet. I guess it would be a good idea to check my home phone voice messages. Although I do think I gave them my cell phone number. Now that I think about it, I'm kind of dreading hearing that woman's voice again.

Until next time.

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Surprise!! It's a Boy!

On Friday I spent the day with one of my good friends. I got over to her house around 10am and we both had errands to run so we hung out for the day going from one place to the next. We finally got to the restaurant to eat lunch around 2pm. We went to see Indiana Jones after that. Within minutes of getting out of the movie my dh called me and said he wanted to let me know that our doe Miss L had been showing signs of labor during the day and she had pushed for the first time. I asked if by any chance he had put her in the nursery pen. We still had the last two does that kidded in there, with their four kids. He hadn't, but after I mentioned it he and Kev moved those does and their kids into the big pen, and moved Miss L into the nursery pen.

With goats, labor progresses fairly steadily. Once the dam begins to push, she should kid within half an hour. If not there are one or two things to consider. First of all, she is possibly having a calcium deficiency and that is causing her pushes to be less than effective. Secondly, the kid could be positioned wrong, or is tangled with its littermate(s).

By the time I got home she'd been pushing leisurely for about 90 minutes. I gave her another half hour and then gave her a dose of the calcium we keep on hand. I gave her a bit longer and decided I'd better have a check inside to see what was going on. I gave her a birthing trim (shaved the long hairs on her tail which were already covered with dried birth goop), washed her bottom very well and then washed my own hand carefully. I checked and the baby was positioned correctly, but she didn't seem to be pushing very hard -- unless I was massaging her perineum. Finally she got the head out and then stopped there. I got hold of the baby's head and carefully pulled. The baby was born and was very limp. I cleaned his face and he was making gurgling sounds so I decided to swing him to clear his lungs. I got hold of his hind legs using a t-shirt because he was still wet and slimy from being born and went around and around in circles about five times. Then I laid him down and wiped him again, and called Miss L over to start licking and bonding with him.

She had been nanny talking and licking us before her kid was born and she managed to rebond with us, and thought we were her kids the first couple days. She kept calling to dh and I, only happy when we were out near her pen.

After she kidded she was doing well, eating hay, drinking her "power punch" for goats (quick energy), and ate some grain. Her kid was very weak after he was born and attempted to stand up but he just couldn't do it. I went to bed around 11pm after I felt like Miss L was doing okay. I got up at 4am and went out to check on them, and he was still laying down, but seemed to be doing okay. I slept in and I finally got out to milk around 6:30am. When I got out there, the kid was up and walking around, and Miss L seemed to be doing okay, too.

Kev's rendition of Miss L's kidding

But that's not the end of my story.

I suspected that Miss Z, the doe who kidded last October 19th, the day before the wedding, was also pregnant. Usually I breed our does every other year but it has been crazy busy around here with both my dh and I working. For several years, I worked and he stayed home to run our little mini-farm, but he had to start working a couple of years ago so he hasn't had much time to do repairs. Our bucks broke out of the pen, jumping not only their fence, but the doe fence. Miss Z's milk supply had been decreasing but she gave me a pound on Friday morning so I thought she still had two to four weeks to go until she was due. I wrote down the day that the bucks broke into the pen but I hadn't checked my barn records yet.

I was busy with Miss L on Saturday morning, and when Miss Z wasn't hanging around waiting her turn to be milked I decided to just not milk her. After all she's only giving one pound of milk so she can go for a day in between milkings.

On Sunday morning she came in to be milked at her normal turn and as she jumped on the stand I noticed she had some goop on her back end, plus her bottom looked kind of red and a little swollen. I thought she must be starting in labor. I milked her, and noticed that one side of her udder was emptier than the other side. I mentioned to my dh that her kids were STILL NURSING and we needed to get them separated from her because I she was pregnant. He says, "Z's pregnant?! How did I miss that? I didn't know that!"

The bucklings that were in the nursery pen with their dams were chasing all the females in the doe pen. Our goats are Nubians and do not appear to cycle during the summer, so I wasn't letting myself get too freaked out. Some people claim that they have silent heats and there is still a chance they can conceive, but I've never tested the theory either way. That's all I need is a yard full of does pregnant by 4 month old bucklings... they are fertile as early as 3 months of age!

Since Miss Z was obviously in labor, we put her in the nursery pen along with Miss L (who gave birth on Friday, who also happens to be Miss Z's dam).

Kev and I went to church and dh kept an eye on everyone outside. He noticed the little bucklings were ganging up on our herd queen and she was whirling and twirling and headbutting them so he took her out of the big pen and put her into the nursery pen to protect her from the bucklings. Miss L was headbutting her daughter, Miss Z and really didn't want her in the nursery pen. Miss Z really wanted back into the big pen and stood near the fence line looking anxious. Dh decided to go ahead and put her back into the big pen since her mother was headbutting her and she seemed so eager to get back to the big pen. She also didn't seem too close to kidding, so he figured we could move her later on.

After Kev and I got home from church, the three of us went out and caught the four bucklings, got them banded and moved them to the buck pen to prevent them from harrassing the does. We were all over the yard, in the barn and all over the place catching those little bucklings.

Moving the bucklings into the buck's pen meant they were also getting weaned. I usually like to band the boys, then let them stay with their dam for a couple more days, then wean them. But they were really being brats so we just decided to get it over and done with.

That means I had to milk SIX does this morning. I've been milking three, now suddenly six. So I got up right at 3:00am and we went out to milk.

The two does that were in the nursery pen are still learning to come when called for milking, so we had to go into the pen and get them.

Finally it was Miss Z's turn. Dh was using his flashlight and looking around the pen and finally he spotted her on the other side all alone. He thought maybe she was going to have her babies - then - he realized she had a baby with her!!! I went over with the flashlight to have a look and the baby was all dried off and didn't act like a newborn at all. That is when I realized all of a sudden that she must have had him sometime on Saturday, and she was hiding him in the back of the barn. Now it made sense! The goop on her backside, the one side of her udder being empty. LOL! I grabbed her baby and brought him and his dam out and they are now in the nursery pen. I need easy access to them so I can do the buckling's disbudding when it's time. I keep chuckling to myself at the thought of how Miss Z got one over on me. And, I'm very grateful, because Miss L's kidding was pretty stressful and it would have been too much to have to be worried about Miss Z, too.

When I told Kev about Miss Z's surprise baby, he said when we were chasing the bucklings around, he saw Miss Z on the backside of the barn and she must have already had her baby by that time.

A public thanks to Kev for doing hoof trims on half of the goats today. Now we just have to get to the other half... thanks, Kev.


Until next time.

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My New Camera - Nikon S550

My Mother's Day birthday present this year was my very own digital camera. I've been using the digital cameras that belong to my employer for the last eight years.

Kev helped me choose one - he has a Nikon S10 and loves it. We looked on Costco together and right away he thought I should get the Nikon S550. It was $229 with a 2GB card free. There was another camera that I thought would work just as well for $150 but in the end the purple S550 won me over.

Especially when it went on sale for $199 with the free 2GB card! I ordered it on the 23rd and it arrived on the 28th.

I went outside today and took a few pictures, just experimenting with it.

On Pioneer Woman's Photography blog one of her guest bloggers told us about Bokeh. I had never heard of it, but decided to see if I could capture some similar photos. These first two came out pretty good. You can click on them to see a larger image.

Bokeh with the camera shooting in sepia.

This was an attempt at Bokeh, but there isn't much in the background to blur.

I was really amazed at how clear these came out, as I was using macro mode and the wind kept blowing the pieces of grass back and forth.

I am excited to learn more about this camera.

Until next time.

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