It looks like a house.....

Well, the house is starting to look like a house.  PH purchased enough Hardi plank boards to cover the front (east side) and the south side.  These are two sides that face the road, so at least the house will LOOK done, once the roof is put on.

Today, because of the heat, PH opted to take a break in the afternoon and pick up the siding to complete two walls of my pantry.  This will allow me to start getting organized.  I am so excited, I will finally be able to SEE what I have, and what else I will need.  It will be a busy week getting things moved from the cabin-tainer into the house.  I will take a picture of the "before" and "after" of the pantry and post later.

We sold our final buckling to a 12 year old boy who is in FFA and will be showing him.  I am so happy for both of them.  The young man was very excited to get Ares (his mother is Hera).

I asked PH to rest tomorrow, since it is Sunday, but he is anxious to get the windows put into the kid's rooms.  It is supposed to be hot tomorrow too (85) and he is working on the south side of the house.  He plans to work on the siding in the early morning, then inside on the windows.  It is truly amazing how much cooler it is in the house with the doors and windows open, then the container.  It's a HUGE difference, even without AC!

PS#1 and his grandfather have finished the chicken coop for my MIL.  I will be providing 3 hens and a rooster for her, and we will be ordering more to raise.  I also am finalizing my turkey order, plus another order for the Freedom Rangers (meat birds).

We have provided several meals at the community center this week.  Many in our community take hot meals in the evenings for the storm victims, volunteers and relief workers.  This week I used a venison roast I was given and cooked it along with onion soup mix in the crock pot all night.  Man! it smelled so good!  I added potatoes in large chunks and a pint of carrots I had canned recently.  I also added several teaspoons of my Watkins Beef Soup/Gravy Mix, salt, pepper.  I had rave reviews from the workers, they really enjoyed it.  I am so glad.

We also had a casserole night where our home school co op provided the meal.  I made homemade mac n cheese (my mom walked me through it), and roasted one of my Freedom Ranger chickens.  I brushed it with olive oil, sprinkled with salt and rosemary.  I stuffed the cavity with apples and onions, and cooked potatoes and carrots around it.  It was beautiful.  I wanted to take a picture of it, it looked that good.  Don't now how it tasted though ;-). 

Yesterday, I cooked a 20 lb turkey in the roaster all day (6 hours).  It smelled wonderful in the cabin-tainer!  Though it was way too hot to roast a turkey.  I spent most of the day in the house to keep cool.  PD#1 and I took the turkey and a big pot of corn.  Today, I simmered the turkey carcass all day.  This evening I poured the broth in a big pot and set in the fridge to hopefully can asap.  I picked through all the bits and pieces of meat left, discarding bones and yucky bits.  I had a pot full of meat left!  I think I will make turkey pot pie and take it up to the community center on Monday, IF they still need hot meals.

I feel like I am not doing much to help.  I can't physically do much and I need to care for the kids, so cooking is my way.  Though PH said there is a limit, and I need to step back and lets others do their share.  So after the pot pie, that will be all that I can provide.

Well, not stocking up this week for me, money is going towards the house, and I am getting the pantry in order.  Have a good week!

So far this week...

The weather has been beautiful.  We did receive 2 inches of rain last weekend, but this week it starts out cloudy and overcast in the morning, but by later afternoon it has been wonderful and SUNNY!  Today it was 85!  Perfect Spring weather~

We did laundry, and were able to hang it out to dry.  Yeah!

Our 3/4 hp meat grinder came by UPS today.  It is very heavy!  PS#2 asked what it was, and I told him it was to chop up meat into hamburger.  He go excited and said "Meat! Deer Meat Mama? Animal Meat mama?! I like animal meat."  That made me laugh, I don't know what other kind of meat there would be.  

I am on the hunt for a good sausage recipe.  I have a quarter of a hog, and a quarter of a deer that I'd like to mix to make sausage, but since I haven't done it before, I will need to research the process.

I also planted 72 bean plants (1/2 pinto, 1/2 black bean).  Of the 26 tomato plants I transplanted only half have survived, so there will be another round of tomato seeds planted, but I think I will do it directly into the raised bed. 

PH also found a whole house fan at Lowe's on clearance.  It was $200 OFF, making it $89.  We were planning to get one, but later on.  He took advantage of the price and snapped it up.  I was so happy!
He also brought home the tar paper, and has ordered (2) 16' X 40' tarps (the kind used on cotton bales) to put on the roof until the roof is complete. 

After the tar paper, we will be moving onto Hardi Plank to side the house.  We were originally going with Hardi Board, but PH changed his mind. I am for whatever is the easiest and the fastest.

We have a back door already that needs to be hung, and two vanity sinks.  Can't decide which to use.  One is a wall hanging model, the other has a pedestal base.  I am leaning towards the pedestal one. 

I spent yesterday doing a preliminary design of the kitchen.  We aren't to that point yet, but I am trying to walk through the canning and meat processing routines to make sure I have what I need in place to make our food processing easier and more stream lined.

County Fair, Apples and House Building

We have been busy this past week.  We started back to schooling, and have been readying our entries for the local county fair.  This is the second year we have participated, and this year PD#2 got in on the act and drew two pictures to enter into the art contest.  She also made a wonderful cake, but it slid off the seat into the floor when we pulled into the fair grounds.  She was so sad!  I was frustrated, and at the same time felt bad for her.  It's a learning experience to keep your hands on the cake taker...(sigh)

PD#2's cake before 

PD#1 entered several water color paintings, photographs and a crocheted hat/scarf she made this week. 

PD#1's scarf

PS#2 "drew" (term used lightly) two pictures.  He's 2 1/2 and wanted to "make" pictures too.

This little PW entered 8 jars of canned foods, a sampling of each item I canned so far this summer.  I am praying I win a ribbon for one of them.

This week (Monday) I also received my order from Azure Standard of 20 lbs of Akane apples (I've never heard of that type).  I've peeled lots of apples and made an apple pie, and an apple cobbler.  We are "appled" out.  So far, I have peeled (using my nifty peeler/corer/slicer tool) 8 trays of apples for the dehydrator.  Don't be fooled, it sounds like a lot, but it dries out to be 2 quarts of dried apple slices.  PS#2 LOVES them!  They are better than I expected.  I had planned to make applesauce using my Great Nanny's recipe AND apple pie filling, but I think I will dehydrate all of these, and order a second 20 lbs to make the sauce and filling.

French Apple Pie in Cast Iron Skillet

PH has been working fast and furious every evening after work on the floor decking for the house.  It is now finished!  This weekend he will plan out how much additional lumber he will need to start the walls, and will be off to purchase 2 X 4's in town.

PH has made progress on the decking



PD#1 helping daddy put in the screws



Done with the decking!

(doing happy dance)

Other than adding a couple of solar security lights to the property, our preps this week consisted of drying apples and working on the new house.