Baskets, Bunnies and Baby goats!!!!!

I'm so excited. The wire baskets I won on Homestead Revival from Forgotten Way Farms arrived Friday. I found a card in the mailbox when I got home from the Amish store. I thought Oh No! I have to go back to town to get it. Then I saw the notation that the parcel was left in the garage/barn. I skipped to the garage to find a long box propped up on Hubby's saw.
You know I have to say that I have felt more blessed and loved these past two years of financial hardship than I had in the five years of plenty before the economy crashed.


I'm really getting into my critters too. My rabbits had their litters. One rabbit(Gray) had 10 but ate five and one was tossed from the nest leaving four that seem to be doing well. The orange and white rabbit had eight but never made a nest and didn't care for her babies besides cleaning them up. We put them in the nesting box, pulled some of her fur and hoped she would care for them. My California Doe had six and killed three. By the next day the orange rabbit had not cared for her litter so we figured we didn't have much to lose by trying to get the California to foster the babies. Hubby took the white rabbits fur and rubbed it all over the foster bunnies and put them in with the surviving three bunnies, that made 11. Three of those died, one of hers and two of the foster bunnies. So we have 8 with her now and they all seem to be doing well. A total of 12 new bunnies.





Our dairy kids are doing very well. They are so much fun to play with! I plan on keeping one doe and selling the other two and then we have the little buck that we have casterated. The beor/nubian doe in the outside pen is pregnant but I don't know how far because she lives with the buck. He is going to have to have an area all to himself. He has decided that I am part of his harem and he herds me away from my husband. Moo-Moo thinks I belong to him and he and the goat start head butting each other and I have to rush out of the pen... Drama in the barnyard.


Update----The pregnant doe is no longer pregnant. I had started this post on Friday and last night she gave birth to the most adorable little doe!

Spring Cleaning!

I love my kitchen table! I bought it a few years ago from a good friend the Chicken Lady and it has been the center of meals and conversations,games, good times and bad.
Right now I'm waiting for the kiddos to come home from school. I worked hard today to clean up and get ready for gardening time. I took pictures because my "clean house" doesn't last very long as soon as they get home and their friends come over!

This is my cooking area and when I am cooking I tend to tell everyone to stay out of my space. I have a system and move to my own music in this spot! I get creative and busy.



This is part of my cookbook collection. I love old cookbooks when you had to actually make all of the dish! I have some from the 50's and I love them. I love reading the instructions. Sometimes it reads like a cooking for dummies book. many of the older cook books focus not only on the recipes but on how to greet your husband and how to parent. Although, lately, I think we should move more towards that!
I love being a homemaker and the cookbooks on todays shelves just tell you how to take as many shortcuts as possible for your busy working day.
I have a cook book from 1912 sponsered by a bank. It is so funny because it advertises Ladies accounts. It talks about how checks are much better because then the woman doesn't have to bother with figuring out change...Can I be a homemaker without being thought of as a MORON?
Here is one more pic... My soap! Maybe I could use it to hand wash the clothing? No I don't think I want to go that far into the past!

Making cheese!

Right now I'm waiting for the dripping to stop! Hubby must have hid the camera 'cause I can't find it to take pictures. He thinks it's a bit silly to take pictures and post them...Sigh...I love him anyway.

But I have all this milk and thought what the heck... I used two quarts of milk, brought the milk up to 180 degrees and added a 1/2c. lemon juice which was about two and a half lemons.

At first I thought I did something wrong because I didn't see large curdles(cottage cheese) but then I noticed it was seperating in tiny little bits. I lined a colander with cheese cloth and placed it over another pot. I poured the speckly milk into the cheesecloth and noticed how the specks began to build. Pretty cool stuff!
As the whey ran out the bottom I started to pull up the sides of the cheese cloth bringing the ends together creating a sack. I rubberbanded the top and then tied some kitchen string around the bands and hung the "sack" from my cupboard door over the colander. I'm waiting for it to stop draining.
Next I'm going to add some minced garlic and salt to give it some flavor. I thought some chives would be nice too but I don't have any right now. The whole purpose for doing this is to use what I have and save money. So running out to buy chives would be counter productive.

I'm going to use the whey to make a couple loaves of bread. Instead of water I will use this. Waste nothing!
I'm off to squeeze my cheese!