WEEKEND RAMBLINGS DECEMBER 20, 2014

We've had a lot of foggy days this past week with 4 straight days of freezing fog and then again yesterday.  This was a picture of our tree this morning.  It's absolutely beautiful to behold.  This freeze was slightly different last night in it frozen like shards on the limbs.  It normally looks more like moss growing on the limbs.

The skies have been grey and overcast all week.  I wish we could see a bit of sunshine.  It's just been downright gloomy!

My crazy work schedule for the past three weeks has finally been fixed and I'll be working my requesting 12 to 16 hours per week at my second job instead of the 24 they've been giving me.  I honestly don't know how some of them do it.  There are several that work 24 or more hours on top of their full time jobs.  I was overwhelmed with just three weeks of it.  It felt like I did nothing but work with no breaks.  I have three days in a row off this week!!!!  I may go into shock at all that time off! Granted I'll be busy two of those days cooking for Christmas but I won't be at a cash register or computer.

I finished my Christmas shopping and have everything wrapped and under the tree except for the stockings.  Hopefully everyone will like the gifts I bought. I wrapped everything Friday night after Matt went to work while watching A Christmas Carol (1938 version). It's the only free one on Amazon Prime. I'll have to dig through my DVD's and see which ones I have.  I'd like to watch the one with Patrick Stewart. It's my Christmas tradition to watch as many versions as I can each year. I use to watch A Christmas Carol and Scrooge movies with my Grandma and Uncle Keith. I can remember staying up Christmas Eve after we got back from church watching some version until I fell asleep. I finished all our family and friend holiday cards last Sunday and finished doing the cards to my Mary Jane's Farm friends today so I think I can safely say that I'm done except for cooking.  

Today I made some minty biscuits for the pups to help their bad breath.  The biscuits are cooling in the oven now so they haven't tried them.  Took them outside and when we came back in the wonderful smell of mint filled the kitchen.  Oreo has been whining since they went into the oven so I suspect she knows there are treats in there that she wants.

CRAFTING:

I started a 10-Stitch baby blanket this week for a girl that I use to work with.  Since Matt's flying back to Michigan after Christmas to visit his family and friends, I plan on using the time to do some intense knitting and cleaning.  My friend is having a baby girl so I'm doing it in a solid pink.  Hope it turns out.

READING:

Dark Wolf by Christine Feehan. This is a continuation of a large /vampire/shifter series she has. Both characters have been appearing throughout the series so I was interested to read how they finally came together. Skye, the female character, was a child when she first appeared in the series so it was interesting to see glimpses of her growing up in other books and now to have reached adulthood. I have lost interest in the series as it seemed to be the same thing over and over.  This is book 25 so there are a LOT of books in the series.  I really liked this one and I'm glad I bought it on my Kindle to keep.

RV Boondocking for Beginners by Steve Plant.  Short book that was free on boondocking but has gone up to $2.99.  Great beginner resource.  If you've considered getting an RV and/or boondocking this might be a good starting book.  

Plain & Simple Traditions: Amish & Mennonite Holidays by Sarah Price. This is a new release as of this past week that was $2.99 on Kindle. I had pre-ordered this after she posted pre-order information on her Facebook page last month.  It was interesting to read how they celebrate and there are a ton of recipes. A lot of the recipes I've tried but there are some new ones. The one thing I didn't like was her putting the lyrics to Christmas hymns in. I understand that some people may not have heard of the hymns but I would have preferred more information and examples.

WEEKEND RAMBLINGS DECEMBER 14, 2014

Oven baked I-Tail-ian Meatballs from Three Dog Bakery Cookbook

I-Tail-ian meatballs were made and given 3 paws approval from the pups.  I used a 1" cookie scoop to make them. I think they are too large for snacks so I cut them into quarters after I baked them.  The recipe had them cooked in a pan the entire time but I thought it would be better to bake them so I put them in the oven for 20 minutes after browning them in a pan.  I did keep out 3 whole cooked meatballs and frozen them for the pups Christmas meal.  The recipe I believe is intended for those that cook their dogs food daily and if you used these for a meal I would probably use a larger scoop or feed them several depending on the dog's size. I also found these to be extremely moist.  The next time I might use only one egg to bind them and see if that helps.  As you can see they sort of flattened into patties when I flipped them.

My baking today also included 4 mini loaves of banana bread.  I used a new recipe that I found on Not Quite Amish Living.  The pups got a bit of a loaf end and gave it 3 paws up too.  Oreo loves bananas so it's no surprise she likes banana bread and Tip loves bread of any type.  I added pecan chips to it, although not the cup they suggested.  I used a small bag so it was probably approximately 1/4 cup of chopped pecans if that much.  I think I bought the pecans for salads and hadn't used them so it was a good way to use them up.

While I was baking, I cleaned the shelves and drawers of the fridge.  I had some fruit go bad in the fruit drawer and wanted to sanitize the drawer and ended up cleaning the whole thing. It's a good thing to clean it out every couple months anyway so it was due. I'd like to get some drawer and shelf liners to make future cleaning easier. Unfortunately I didn't get the freezer inventoried like I'd hoped. At this point I honestly have no clue what's in there.  With Matt on a soft diet for the past several weeks we haven't been eating out of the freezer.

I was hoping Jordon would help me decorate the tree but he took off after I picked him up from work. Matt was working tonight. This year I chose to put it in the living room.  To protect the carpet from the needles I put a flannel bed sheet under it to catch the needles. I put the tree skirt over the top of the sheet in the front.  I decided to go simple this year on decorating and left 75% of my decorations in the tubs.  The tree looks a lot prettier in life then it does in this picture.  I had to take down and put away all the fall decorations and then reorganize the living a bit to clear that corner. Hopefully Matt doesn't get too upset.  He hates me reorganizing rooms.

While I was working I  watching Cranford on Amazon Prime.  I really like this BBC series and was disappointed to discover it only has 8 episodes total.  I finished season 1 today and unfortunately season 2 isn't free.  There's 3 episodes left of the series so I'll probably break down and pay for season 2. I may check the library to see if they have it before spending the money.  My other recent favorite was Miss Fisher's Murder Mysteries on Amazon Prime.  I finished up with the series last weekend.  Matt and I referred to as the "flapper mysteries".  I wanted to watch some Miss Marple mysteries but discovered the one I wanted is now no longer free.  Why is it everything I like has gone from free to rent for a fee?  After I finished watching Cranford I decided a Harry Potter marathon was my choice for relaxing so I popped a DVD in.

WEEKEND RAMBLINGS DECEMBER 13, 2014

This week has been busy.  This was the first of my three 64 hour weeks and I have survived it although by Thursday I was pretty tired.  This too shall pass as the week of Christmas my hours at my second job drop to 16 and then the next week to 12.  Feast or famine it appears. I'm going to open my schedule up to working in Lawn & Garden to help ensure that I get hours.

We're still adjusting to Matt's schedule but things are starting to settle.  The one issue I'm not sure about is how we're going to work out is lunch.  By the time he gets up around 11, I'm starting to get hungry and he only wants his coffee (his breakfast) and isn't interested in eating until about 2.  As I typically take Jordon to work about 11:45, having my lunch after I get back makes more sense then starting work again and then taking another break.  It doesn't look like our idea of having a "family" lunch is going to work at this time.

Our weather has been warmer this week.  Temps this weekend are expected to be around 40'F.  Hopefully the snow will melt. The warmer temps are causing fog at night and in the morning.  I have a beautiful view of white covered trees out my window by my work computer from the fog freezing on the trees. Matt took this picture from outside.

Last night when I went to get Jordon from work there was a light mist and frozen ice on my windows.  Jordon went to take the garbage out for me and nearly fell on the deck from the freezing mist so although it can be really pretty, it can be dangerous as well.  This morning when I took him to work there was a thick fog and everything was still slick.  Thankfully the main road was not slippery.

I ran out of the peanut butter treats so I made up a new batch of biscuits for the pups.  This time I made Pumpkin Pie Biscuits from You Bake 'Em Dog Biscuits Cookbook by Janine Adams.  They smell divine! I made three dog shaped cookies and frozen them for Christmas Day for their dessert and the rest were bone shaped for daily treats.  There is a good amount of cinnamon and nutmeg in them so they smell just like a pumpkin pie.  These don't rise so you have to roll them thick to have a good thickness of biscuit.  The pups give them a thumbs up too.  My weekend baking plan is to make I-Tail-ian Meatballs from the Three Dog Bakery Cookbook.  I have the turkey thawing so hopefully these will get made up tomorrow.  I may see if I can get another batch of biscuits done too.

Weekend Ramblings December 7, 2014

I've been super busy.  The hours I'd asked for have not been honored and they're giving me 20-24 hours a week, making my work weeks between 60-64 hours, which is WAY to many hours for me.  Unfortunately I'm not getting anything done because I'm working so much.  Instead of enjoying my Sundays I'm rushing around trying to get everything done.  I hope to get my schedule fixed soon or I may have to give up the idea of the second job.  When I feel overwhelmed like I did this week, I try to remember to breath deep and to remind myself that this is only temporary and it shall pass.

I had a scare with Tip right before Thanksgiving.  Walked in the door after getting home from work and noticed blood all over Tip's flank.  I'd thought to save a few pennies by buying cheap treats and Tip had a reaction which caused a really bad hot spot that he kept chewing.  I tried treating it myself but he won't stop chewing on himself so I took him in to the vet the Friday after Thanksgiving.  Thankfully the antibiotics and steroid taper she put him on has worked.  He's been stumbling a bit so I talked to her about that too and we may start some type of med after he finishes up his steroid taper for arthritis to help him.  There's a definite improvement in his movement since he's been on the steroids.  Oreo needs to go in for hip issues too so I'll be seeing the vet quite a bit.

Since my dog treats have to be carefully watched now, I've started making my own dog biscuits so I can control the ingredients.  This batch is peanut butter flavored.  Simple, but they definitely liked them.  I had bought several cookbooks and dog bone cookie cutters in various sizes with intentions of making their dog treats but never carried through with it.  I made bones in 1.5" and 2' sizes".  I liked the amount of rise I got from this recipe.  The one time I made them before they stayed really flat.



Peanut Butter doggie treats

Thanksgiving day we set a record low at -29 degrees beating the previous record of -14.  Those temps are without wind chill.  I'm a bit worried to say the least about it plunging so low so early in the season.  I might have to go visit my son down in Texas to thaw out! We have also gotten several inches of snow.  The pups were so excited when they went out in it the first time this winter.  It was snowing when I got home from work that night so the pups and I did a late night walk in the snow which is an annual ritual.  I thought I had some time to get them some boots to protect their paws but with temps so low already I'll have to get some ordered.  Thankfully the weather has been warmer and today we had some melt off.  The pups and I actually got out for a walk today it was so nice.



Lacey walking the perimeter



Lacey checking out tracks through the yard

As you can see Lacey is checking out the tracks in the yard.  She's been very skittish since the skunk incident.  She watches the direction the skunk ran every time we're outside.  Who would have thought she would have become such a guard dog!