We had a lovely last week of October and the last day, on Halloween, we were awakened by a phone call about 7:30a.m. "Mama tell Dad to come on and help me. I've got y'all a deer!" Well there's good news to end a month upon, the promise of meat in the freezer. They loaded it up and took it over to the processors on the other side of the county. John said it took the two of them to lift the thing but when they arrived a man walked out, told them he'd get it and picked it up all by himself. Now Sam nor John are weaklings by any means, so they were more than impressed with this man's strength.
I had asked if I might have the antlers. I wasn't expecting the top scalp to be attached to them. I mentioned this to John who said it would be no problem to saw them off for me. He told me that as hardened as he is as a medic and having butchered many a deer himself in past years he was a bit shocked when they handed him the top of the scalp with antlers attached, lol.
Josh wasn't impressed that I had used an antler on my table for fall, by the way, one that is about three years old. He declared it gross, though it's an old antler and nothing gross about it. The ones out in the yard, currently hanging in a tree, will season before they are brought indoors.
We were getting ready for church this morning, when I heard a shot fired and shortly after Sam texted John he'd gotten another deer this morning. I told John he'd said that the second and fourth would be for us. "I don't want that much,' John said, "It's too much..." I'd beg to differ but suggested we just wait and see how it went. I've already determined that we'll do mostly ground meat but if I'm getting sausage and roasts and cubed steaks as well as ground meat, then I've really little reason to go buy red meat at all for about a year...And that's worth clearing space in the freezer to make room for in my opinion. I think Sam said it generally averages out to about $2 a pound, too. It's a huge savings over what we'd pay in a store. But we'll see on more scores than one.
November brings 3 birthdays this month, Caleb's first and the twins 9th. We'll have a family day, Thanksgiving, put up our Christmas tree, and do all the usual daily things, plus anything else that pops up during the month. I'm pretty sure it will prove to be a full month and a busy-ish one.
But let us not look so very far ahead...Let us look ahead just one week.
Work:
"Home storage should consist of a year’s supply of basic food, clothing, and, where possible, fuel. After this goal is reached, emergency and expanded storage is desirable.” (Barbara B. Smith)
I've shared pretty much the same thoughts myself. Not just foods but extra clothing, checking over sheets and towels and rugs and curtains. Looking at what we might need to keep the house and cars in good repair. Also looking to see how I can make our furniture last a bit longer, etc. What cleaning supplies might be needed, or light bulbs or matches....You get the idea. I need to get busy and make out lists of needs and plan my purchasing schedule as well as look for sales.
This week may end being a grocery week, at least a small shop if not a big one. We're low on eggs, butter, most fresh produce, milk, and bread.
I have bills that must be paid this week.
I've promised Mama a day this week and need to deliver a package to her that I had shipped here by mistake in addition to whatever else she needs.
I may be helping Katie as she preps for Caleb's party if only in keeping him occupied.
Clearing my throat....Scrape the back porch...Say nothing!
I really need to tackle weeding. Somewhere between September and October a wildflower I'd allowed to grow in one flower bed took over that one and part of another. I don't have a load of weeding to do but enough that I'll appreciate getting myself in gear to attend to it now. Also would be a great time to mulch out that particular bed...So add buy mulch to the list.
Do some blog housekeeping...I want to make some changes and may need to look up how to accomplish my tasks.
I also need to do some housekeeping on my YouTube subscriptions page. I'm overwhelmed with the number of people I'm following and so I'm going to cull it down to the few that I truly enjoy.
Zone 1 Kitchen, laundry and back entry. I don't have specific tasks in mind but a good deeper cleaning won't hurt a bit.
I'm going to go ahead and defrost the freezer this week and sort through it and the fridge freezer, too, to try and make room for our deer meat.
Our local store has chicken leg quarters for $2.99/10 pounds. I'd kind of like to take advantage of that sale but will need to go in prior to Tuesday or skip it.
Meals:
Do you ever make up a menu plan and then later think...Noooo, not that...? That was me this week. We had soup, I thawed a whole cut up chicken, but everything else got changed up! I've listed both chicken dinners together but they will be separated and not served back to back
Beef Stew...It doesn't look in the least appetizing but it smells good. Well it tasted good, too. I had a bunch of peas and green beans left from various meals that I'd frozen together. some canned potatoes and canned sliced carrots. I should have browned my beef, it would have appeared more appetizing.
Deviled Chicken, Mashed Potatoes, Green Beans An old fashioned recipe that is cooked with a seasoned topping and then topped with bread crumbs that cook up crispy and lovely.
BBQ Chicken Breasts, Rice, Coleslaw with Apple and Cranberries
Spaghetti with Meat Sauce, Garlic Toast, Green Salad I'd like to make the Pumpkin Alfredo dish but John protested last time I was going to make it. I'll see how this goes. Either way, Pasta will be for supper one night.
Red Beans and Rice, Coleslaw, Corn Muffins If I buy cornmeal...I'll double up on rice when I make the BBQ Chicken
Hamburger Gravy, Toast, English Peas, Peach Salad
Chicken and Dumplings, 3 Bean Salad
Leisure:
Worked on my Genealogy notebook Saturday morning. I would like to do more sometime this week.
Finished reading The Ghost and Mrs. Muir which was a lovely absorbing read. Just what I needed this week. Picked up Tamar Adler's An Everlasting Meal and will intersperse that with D. E. Stevenson's Sarah's Cottage. I just found out it's a sequel and I really want to order the first book and read it first. Anyone else have that problem of wanting to read books sequentially if you know it's part of a series? I may order it, but I know from past readings that this book will stand on it's own. so I'll put the book on my 'want' list.
After listening to the melancholy vintage songs of summer loves lost in Autumn for all of October, I'm about ready for a change of pace musically speaking. I'm 'auditioning various artists. I'll let you know as soon as I find this month's music.
6 comments:
Have you considered pressure washing the porches? It may strip most of the loose paint right off and you will be nearly done. Besides, pressure washing is fun as far as I am concerned.
Oh do get Sarah Morris Remembers- it is very good!
I absolutely HAVE to read series in their proper order. Characters evolve as their authors live with them over the years and to "go back" never feels right to me.
I pick up a lot of book recommendations from blogs that I read and readers recommendations. But if they recommend a series, I always order the first one.
Terri, you must be busy trying to make room for all that deer your son got you! What a blessing! I am squeamish just thinking about the scalp attached to the antlers, ich.
I am finding myself a bit under the weather this past week so I am just trying to go with the flow and listen to my body. Sleeping in when you feel like it is wonderful and I have been doing that too! I don’t have to be up to get my youngest going on his school work as he takes some classes online and we do some things together later in the morning. It’s wonderful to not have to get up so early. We are behind on winter prep and the weather is blessing us with more timme as sometimes winter can swoop in the 4th week of October and not leave. We are having temps in the 60s this week so it is very warm for us. My husband has Friday off and he promised to dig the holes for my tulips and together we will cut down the rest of the perennials and do some raking (the boys will be on pick up duty). I will be glad to get that all done. I just then have to do winter hat/glove inventory and make sure all our winter coats are washed. Then I can move on to doing some baking!
I have never made fruitcake, but I noticed you said that you making it this year. Please do share your recipe and what you brush it with and where you put it (fridge or not?). My grandfather was a baker and came from a baker’s family in Holland and he made delicious fruitcake that I loved as a child. He didn’t make it a few years before he died and when I asked him for the recipe, he had forgotten it as it was memorized. I haven’t eaten fruitcake since. I ordered some candied lemon and orange and I looked up how to make my own candied cherries out of maraschino cherries that don’t have red40 in (can’t have this additive). King Arthur Flour has some well reviewed fruitcake recipes and I also found a Dowager Duchess Cake online that uses just the candied citrus that looked interesting. I’m not very much into alcohol so I’m not sure about what to brush the fruitcake with. Anyway, I will be glad to hear about your fruitcake and you other holiday baking adventures. I am also going to make speculaas cookies and gingerbread cookies.
I could not find pumpkin at the store so I bought some pie pumpkins. We didn’t have any in our garden this year, but I will make sure to plant some next year. Well I am going to rest on my front porch a bit longer and enjoy this unusually warm weather, then try to get up and do a bit of vacuuming. Hugs to you Terri and have a lovely evening!
Karen, I used bourbon to brush my cakes but one source said you might use apple juice or cider. I've only made the fruitcakes for the first time last year and there are things I want to do differently this year. I'm going to look up more recipes and compare them and will adjust the one I have accordingly.
What a blessing to get that much meat! $2/lb is a terrific price, I think. I'm glad you can squeeze out enough freezer space to take it. I also love it when I can get hindquarters for such a low price. I mean, 30c/lb? For any meat? Right? That price comes so rarely around here that when it did, my husband bought 5 bags. (50 lbs.). That was months ago, and we are still pulling that chicken out and he BBQ's it. We did slightly thaw a couple of the bags to allow us to break them into smaller packages, but left several in the 10 pound bricks and thaw them when we have a large family occasion, or a plan to make multiple meals with the chicken.
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