Coastal Reflections

A country boy can survive

Well, he did it again!  2 more!!! ~~Way to go~~

Limit here is 6 deer so he's already half done.  If he gets anymore I think we'll give them away.  He's still hoping for a big rack to put on the wall though!

Booger's Day

Well, I woke up a happy puppy....got Mom up at 5:30AM,

as usual, so I could go outside and do my morning rituals. I

met the cats on the top step....Oh boy...I get to chase them

out into the yard, what fun that is...they really run...wait

until I learn to bark, they will hear me coming then...Back

into the house, Wow, smells good, Mom is fixing breakfast.

I eat my kibbles, get a drink, then run into the room where

Mom and Dad are, and I make a big dive into my new soft

bed. It is all black, has a Milkbone on the corner...I like to

chew on it a little bit...Mom finally gave me a bite of egg

and toast, I was really good, I just sit and give her "that

look"...you know, the starving dog one...Yep, works every

time. I have good manners, and she tells me what a good

boy I am. Finally, Dad has finished his coffee, I can hardly

wait, we go outside and he turns me loose in the fenced

chicken yard....What fun ! I chase a big fluffy rooster,

wow, could he run, but I chased and chased,and when I

finally caught up to him, that stupid bird just STOPPED !

Well, my nose went in his behind, and he sat on me ! Good

grief, I felt like a feather duster ! Dad laughed, thought I

was funny...then I ran into the garden, and found some

Llama hair...boy, I grabbed it and just ran all over the

garden, finally had to lay it down...then I dug in the

dirt...Wowee...I can blow dust bubbles in the dirt ! I only

sneezed once, then we came back to the house. I got to

chase the cats one more time. Dad said it was a wonder

the old white cat with the crooked tail didn't stripe my

nose. I have had a great day, sleeping and eating, going

out and playing...I am so glad Mom and Dad adopted

me...I just love it here at Itsy Bitsy Farm.

Little Bitty Updates...again!

I already typed a long entry, but for some reason it didn't post.  Now I'm tired of typing so now here's the shorter version!

Thanksgiving--went well.

Black Friday sales--went extreemly well, considering!

Today- going great so far.  Hubby & son are trying to shoot a deer, Abby's asleep & me and puppy are drinking coffee & chewing on a snowman toy...you decide who is doing which! LOL

It's suppose to keep raining off & on so I'm not sure if we'll get the new chicken pen done this weekend or not...leaning toward the not, but maybe we can at least get started & finish up next weekend.

I hope everyone had a nice Thanksgiving....now I need to figure out where to put the Christmas tree!

A Beautiful Gesture

Update on Jake

Here is a picture of his leg, it took 5 stitches to close the wound - thankfully it was a very clean cut:

I am really wondering about something, though, the Vet told us to keep him calm for two weeks (when we go back and get the stitches out) - anyone have any tips on keeping a Jack Russell/Beagle cross dog calm???????????

A Little Booger in the House

There is a little Booger in our house tonight. He is tiny, all

black except for a tiny white splash on his chest, little

bright eyes, cold nose, lots of puppy kisses, and I have to

admit, he is very, very smart.
I had watched the old stray pregnant dog for a long time,

watched her tearing into trash along the road on my way

to work. You could not catch her, she had made a home

under someone's house, and would run away. Finally, after

a couple months, I would notice her on my way to work,

there were four tiny black puppies following her. I had

talked to Benny about trying to save one of them, I knew it

was a matter of time until the dog catcher would find her.

She has lucked out so far, but for how long, I do not know.

Finally, she was down to just two cute little puppies. I had

talked to some friends in the neighborhood about the

puppies, and had made an attempt to catch them once, but

I could not get to them. Then, there were no puppies at all,

so I assumed they had all found homes, or were just gone.
Today, I received a phone call from a friend. "You

remember those cute puppies?"  ...."Yes"......"well, our

grandaughter got one of them and the landlord told her she

has to get rid of it now"....."Can you help in any way?" "It

is a cute little boy puppy".....and of course, you know my

immediate answer....."I will send Benny to get it right now"

I had to leave for work, so he would have to be the one to

collect the little Booger. I could not wait to get home

tonight. When I got in, guess what the scene was in my

bedroom ? Benny was asleep, his reading glasses hanging

off his nose, the reading light was still on, and in his arms,

a little black puppy was laying on his back, with four paws

up in the air, sound asleep.....the guys in my life were in

dreamland ! We will have to adjust to having a dog in the

house again....someone asked me tonight what kind of dog

it was....I replied it was a "Sooner" dog  ...."A Sooner dog,

what kind is that ?..."Well, it is just as soon one kind as

another"....He does resemble a black lab, but the mother is

a small white terrier.......we will have to wait and see.....

Giving Thanks

Happy Thanksgiving!

Our Thanksgiving this year should be a nice family day.  It will be just the 4 of us here at the homestead.  We will all be sharing in the cooking.

Thanksgiving menu

Smoked Turkey (Dad)

Cornbread Dressing (Mom & Abby)

Mashed potatoes w/gravy (Mom)

Green bean casserole (Tyler)

Crescent rolls (Pillsbury--baked by Abby)

Cranberry Sauce

Pumpkin Pie (Abby)

Hope you have a wonderful day of Thanks at your home!

Cookie Balls

Cookie Balls

I don't know why I have to laugh when I read that
title, but I do. I was thinking about the Holidays and
all the good cookies, candy, cakes, and pies. The stores
are already playing Christmas music and the turkey
has not been picked out yet for Thanksgiving. However,
when it comes to Ghirardelli chocolate squares, the ones
with the ooooooozy, yummmmmy Caramel filling, I am
already buying them. I love that candy...so decadent.This
recipe has to be good, anything with peanut butter...and
chocolate. Here are some cookie ball recipes.......(smile)

Nutter Butter Truffles:

1 pkg. Nutter Butter cookies (broken… use cookies
 with the cream center)

1 8oz. package cream cheese (softened)

chocolate bark
 
1. Finely crush all but 5 cookies in a food processor
or place them in a ziploc bag and crush into a fine
 consistency.
2. Combine with cream cheese. Use the back of a
large spoon to help mash the two together.
3. Roll the mixture into 1" balls and place on wax
 paper covered cookie sheet.
4. Melt chocolate as directed on the package and
then dip balls into chocolate, tap off extra and set
 aside on wax paper covered cookie sheet to dry.
5. Once dry, refrigerate and enjoy!
-----------------------------------------------------------
Oreo Candy Bites

These are easy no bake cookies.

1 pkg. oreo (do not use double stuff)
1 8 oz pkg. cream cheese
white or reg chocolate for melting

Crush Oreo's in a blender
Add cream cheese at room temp. to
crushed oreo's and mix together.
Roll into 1 inch balls, and coat with
 melted chocolate. You can also use
other kinds of chocolate or drizzle white
chocolate  on top.

Drop onto waxed paper and refrigerate.

Very easy and good. Enjoy

--------------------------------------------

No-Bake Peanut Butter Cups

Ingredients:
1 cup graham crackers
1/2 cup butter, softened
2 cups powdered sugar
1 cup peanut butter
2 tablespoons granulated sugar
2 tablespoons milk
2 tablespoons butter
1 cup chocolate chips

Crush graham crackers into crumbs and mix together with 1/2 cup butter, powdered sugar and peanut butter.
Press mixture into an ungreased 9-by-13 inch pan.
In a small saucepan, combine sugar, milk and 2 tablespoons butter. Bring the mixture to a boil, stirring constantly.
Remove mixture from heat and add chocolate chips. Stir until smooth.
Spread chocolate over graham cracker layer. Chill and cut into small squares.
---------------------
Peanut Butter Balls for Reindeer Poop
 
2 cups Jiff creamy peanut butter
2 cups of powdered sugar
2 cups graham cracker crumbs
¾ stick of room temperature butter (salted)
semi-sweet chocolate chips (quite a bit of them)
 
Blend first four ingredients until thoroughly mixed, and roll into walnut sized balls. Freeze until hard. Melt chocolate chips in microwave or double boiler. Stir chocolate until it is smooth.
 
Roll or dip peanut butter balls into the chocolate until they are completely covered. Then freeze them again. You can move them to the refrigerator once hardened. Always keep them cold. Line containers with parchment or wax for easily removal.
 
 
Reindeer Poop Poem:
 
Christmas is coming,
Along with Santa and his deer.
Listen closely on Christmas Eve,
And maybe you will hear.
 
While Santa leaves gifts,
Tied with ribbons and bows,
The reindeer leave these droppings,
In neat little rows!

Never ending excitement

Mother Earth News

Just got my Dec/Jan issue...Marvelous ! Great bread recipe, has an article on anyone raising chickens, lots of pics, built-in-bed with all the measurements.great article on gherkins..we planted them and plowed them under...LOL...I thought they were awful Here were these little green oblong spined cukes, I thought they looked like something from outer space, tried to scrape the spines off, did not work, what a mess they were.....LOL...I thought they were awful  There is a picture of a cute apron made out of jeans on page 17....similar to the one I have, except mine has pink and white stripe ruffles and pigs on the pockets..I loved to see the use of an old metal stock tank being used as a brooder...what a great idea, the chicks would not be able to get out so easily ! I have gone through it three times already, will look at it alot more ! I get lost in country magazines, love to read them, always searching for ways to improve this little place. This year we will hopefully have a bigger garden, and I love fresh herbs. We feel so blessed when we open a jar of our own making...pickles, jelly, jam, pickled beets, pickled okra....I love the land, love to dig in the dirt. My grandpa always raised a garden back in Pennsylvania. I have memories yet of milking the old cow, Bossie, I would always get a swat in the face with her tail, and had all kinds of fruit trees. I can remember sitting in the sour cherry tree and eating cherries till I almost burst. I was so happy when I realized the plum tree I bought,which was covered with wonderful plums this past year, was the same variety as we had on the farm. I always lived country, even when I was confined to the cities, pasting books with pictures of flowers I would some day grow, or how I wanted my garden to look, I could dream even being poor as a church mouse. As I get older, now in the twilight years, I often think back to the love of the old farm, picking wild strawberries, elderberries, looking in early Spring for the first flowers to pop up by the spring...I don't think you can ever take the country out of a true gardener. Just let me dig in the dirt, plant a seed, watch it grow, and I am totally content with the world.