I'm trying to get back into menu planning again as well as stocking a pantry so I can make things easily. We were supposed to go to the bar for green beer on St. Patrick's Day. Friends started dropping in and we never left the farm. I don't know where the idea originated for people to hang out in heated barns but it's the best idea of all time - no people messing the house up. We broke out some folding chairs and then grabbed my camping chairs for seating. We have a ton of paper products so no dishes to deal with afterwards since neither house has a dishwasher. Bella and Jasper played and danced around to the music we had playing as everybody visited. It was a very enjoyable gathering.
 |
| playing with Mr. H's welding helmet |
Thankfully I'd made cookies with Jasper that afternoon and Tyler had made two pots of chili for supper for everybody here on the farm. He'd planned to have leftovers but with the extra guests both pots were eaten. We took the food stuff out to the barn and had an impromptu party. I had bought a bag of frozen cheese curds a couple days before and fried those up for a snack plus the cookies for dessert.
A well stocked pantry is imperative so I don't feel stressed about feeding people that might show up unexpectedly as there's definitely no ordering out for food or running to the store - the nearest store or carry out is 30 minutes away. If we hadn't had the chili I did have several frozen pizzas in the freezer or I could have made homemade as I had the ingredients. I could have also done spaghetti for a quick meal option for a large group. It's important to have a couple options in the pantry to feed a group with no notice if needed.
 |
| my dishwashing assistant |
Jasper spent about two weeks with us this month split up for about a week at a time. One week was my birthday gift for my son as I knew he needed a break and the second week was due to weather. He loves it up here and I hope to convince my son to move up here. Desiree was getting a bit of cabin fever so she went with me to pick Jasper up in Jamestown and go through some baby stuff Jordon has stuffed in his closets. Desiree is due the beginning of May but could deliver any time now. She was able to get quite a few baby items and he was able to clear a lot out of a closet.
 |
| Jasper finding the new toy Tyler bought |
Jasper was sleeping when we arrived to pick him up. When he started waking up Jordon went in and brought him out - you should have seen how excited he was when he saw us. I bought him a pair of rubber boots and he immediately went and got his boots on and his coat. His love of his rubber boots makes us all chuckle. The first pair I bought with dinosaurs were way to big but he still insisted on wearing them everywhere even though they fell off constantly. I finally found a pair with monster trucks in his size and he won't wear anything else now.
Another thing he's taken to doing is letting the dogs in and out. He's not talking much so having him calling to the dogs to go in or out is amusing. Lady, a border collie-blue heeler mix, wasn't listening to him one day so he went over and grabbed her collar and told her to "go" quite clearly as he walked her to the door. Desiree and I were laughing as we watched him. (Side note: we always watch the kids and dogs when together.) Lady is also typically the last to come back and he'll call for her. He can't seem to say the "L" so it's "Ady" when he calls for her. He also doesn't get the "L" in Lacey's name so it's "Acey" or "Cey".
 |
| Annie waiting for us to walk down to the mailbox |
Jasper wants to be outside a lot. I'll be glad when he gets older and can play outside by himself. It's great that Mr. H's 8-year-old granddaughter, Bella, lives on the farm now so he has a playmate and she can watch him sometimes. He gets so excited when the bus drops her off after school. If he sees the bus coming he'll grab me and pull me to door and point to his coat and snow bibs because he knows she'll come get him to play. They bought her a small 120 snowmobile and she's been great about taking him on rides and pulling him on his sled. I came in one afternoon and they were curled up on the chair together and she was reading to him to practice her reading. It was so sweet.
 |
| A boy and his wagon |
I finally got to take another ride on the snowmobile. We haven't been he able to ride since the trip in January as we haven't had enough snow up here. I actually had more snow in Jamestown until this last storm. We did a ditch ride from the farm down to the local bar for supper one night. For those who are like me and have no idea what a ditch drive is, it's riding the snowmobiles along the ditches next to the road. So basically it's following the roads but not riding on the actual rode. A lot of snowmobilers will ride to town in the ditches. Some farmers don't like snowmobilers ditch riding so will put large round snow bales in the way. Thankfully there are no bales where we road.
We got hit this past weekend with about 8" of snow. The storm started Friday afternoon and went through Saturday. Of course the storm started after I got to work. Driving was horrible and I probably should have stayed at work and slept there since I had to be back in Saturday morning but I wanted to sleep in my own bed. Driving to and from work I couldn't see the road edges so I centered myself over the center rumble strip. One of the disadvantages of living rurally and working in town. Those rumble strips are awesome and I thank whoever came up with them! It typically takes about 25 minutes to drive to work and it took me over an hour.
