Walking with Ryan

What a marvelous morning it was..... I set the bread to rise and Ryan and I took off for a hike. It was cold, but it was the wind that kept us off the hills. We headed for the valleys and stayed on the snow covered paths. The only other tracks were deer, coyotes, and a few coon tracks down by the lake. Originally, we were going to trek through all of the trails, but the snow made it pretty difficult so we stayed on the western field paths.

We headed on down to the lake and 'doinked' some rocks on the ice..... ever heard the sound of a good sized rock hitting the ice? It makes a 'doink' sound when it hits the ice :-) The lake sits in a valley so the 'doink' becomes a 'DDOOIINKKKK' :-) Ryan spied something rather large swimming below the ice.... hmmm, maybey the Lochness monster? He trapped a mink last year, we think that's what it was.

Our final stop was up at the point..... we had to brave the winds just to get the view. We were both pretty winded by the time we reached the top but it was worth it. Right as we topped the hill, Ryan spotted a coyote !!

Merry Christmas!

Merry Christmas to everyone..... we hope the holidays find you well. It's been pretty rough around here with Grammy being sick, but I'm sure things will get better. We're praying continually for her health and Grampy's strength.

It's gonna be a busy one t'day...... Dinny & I will be COOK COOK COOKING all day :-) This will be her 2nd year preparing Vigilia---or as my family calls it: 'Valea'. I've researched that darn tradition FOREVER and have come to the conclusion that we say it wrong.... imagine that. I grew up thinking perogis were 'pidoggies' and ravioli were 'rabbiola'. I guess there's an old world pronunciation of Vigilia-----Vilia. That would make sense.

At any rate, Vilia is a European 7 course meatless meal eaten on Christmas Eve. Ours consists of perogi, gnochi, smoked herring, pickled herring, kapusta, potica (sounds like pa-teetsa), and creamed corn or fruit. My family has celebrated Vilia since they came to this country (100 years ago). I don't EVER remember a Christmas without it.

Here's our Christmas Eve:
1.) Put up Christmas Tree (we bought a LIVE one this year---rootball and all)
2.) Cook the Vilia
3.) Eat the Vilia
4.) Go to Mass
5.) Throw the kids in bed
6.) Walk down to the barn & give the sheep holy bread..... then let the girls out of the breeder pens
7.) Go to sleep and wait for St. Nich (hahahaha)

Keep watching..... I'll be uploading pics and videos through the holidays !!

!!!!!!WE LOVE YOU ALL!!!!!!

Those KWAZY WABBITS !!

We went to the Peoria rabbit show over the weekend and had a wonderful time !! Our primary goal was to pick up a couple of English Angoras (since we can't seem to get the French Angoras to have babies!!) We used to have English Angoras a couple of years ago, however, the sheep didn't like them. The French are MUCH easier to groom, but not as cute (in my opinion). Unfortunately, the English require BUNCHES of maintenance----like we have the time?? Sounds like a job for Ry-Ry and Lyndsay.

Daddy is picking up a couple more English Angoras today over in Monee...... a black buck and a gray doe. I've resorted to putting them in the garage for ease of grooming, however..... STINKY, STINKY, STINKY...... back to the coop they're going!!!!

2009 Fall Concert

The Fall 2009 concert was OUTSTANDING !!! The kids did a tremendous job in all 4 choirs. I posted some pictures (on the right) in a slideshow for everyone to see :-) The clip above is of Sean in the Sonshine choir----at least he wasn't making faces at the crowd like he was last year !! I think the kids are getting used to performing as they don't seem as nervous. Last year, you could have heard a pin drop in the car on the way to the performance..... this year, they were all singing and arguing haha!! It's great to see them progress in their singing from year to year. Once again, they'll be on WHOI TV performing their Christmas songs (I'll post the times later).

The Chicago Trip

Dolls, dolls, & more dolls !!!! Lyndsay and I took our trip to Chicago and visited the American Girl shop. She really enjoyed herself and couldn't get enough of the store. I still can't believe how MASSIVE that store is?!? She ended up buying a matching outfit and the little kitty pet for her doll.

I tried to make reservations to eat in the AG shop, but they were filled. I'm kind of glad b/c I really wanted us to eat at the Signature Room in the Hancock. Lyndsay was hilarious in the elevator...... she couldn't believe that we were going to rise 95 floors in a matter of seconds :-) I kept asking her if she wanted to take the stairs haha !

Naturally, the GPS pooped out on the way out of the parking garage and we couldn't get out of the city due to the traffic. Lyndsay kept asking me if we were lost and I wouldn't answer her. Finally, she said, "Mommy, would you like me to quit asking that question?" :-)

Lilo's chickens

Liam is infatuated with the chickens. He always tries to 'escape' down to the coop when Lyndsay does her afternoon chores. I let him go down with me the other day and he was adamant about feeding them HIMSELF :-) He did a good job for a 'lil squirt.......

Applesauce :-)

It sure is October around here.... nothing but wet ! I'll almost be glad to see winter just to be rid of the mud. October means applesauce and sticky floors around here !! Last year, we made sauce and pie filling from our own apples, but this year, the harvest was terrible. We purchased our apples from the orchard down the road. I've heard that fruit trees don't give fruit every year..... it's kind of an 'every other year' thing. Ryan sure was a big help with the applesauce (making and EATING it :-).


Sean can't be bothered with kitchen duties right now as he's riveted to Legos, he can't seem to get enough of them. Every nite we have a Lego date at the dining room table. He's actually a pretty good builder..... but he's SO 'Type A' about it :-) We're still trying to build all of the lego contraptions he got for his birthday.

Lyndsay is all about the bread, lately. She's bound and determined to be Sean's bread maker. We grind our own wheat for bread and whenever Lilo hears the grinder he comes BOLTING into the kitchen to 'help'. Actually, he knows what's coming after the grind :-)---- The whole time we make bread, Liam snatches bits of the dough and runs out of the kitchen. The whole house smells wonderful while it's baking. Unfortunately, we've discovered that Sean has an allergy to regular wheat berries so we purchase special berries for his bread (Kamut & Spelt). He seems to tolerate both types very well. I tried grinding unpolished rice and making his bread out of the rice flour but it was so crumbly and DENSE !!

Seany's New Pet

It's starting to get busy around here, again.... but I don't think any of us mind. We're all trying to prep the place for winter (if that's possible :-). Sean helped move our rams out of the lambing run and made a friend in the process. He's decided that he wants to keep the little black ram as a pet. Since rams don't make the best of pets, I s'pose daddy will have to change his gender :-) Normally, we butcher the males or use them for breeding, but this one has exceptional jet black wool and a marvelous disposition. No, Sean, we're not naming him "horny".

About 6 months ago, Lyndsay & I decided to NOT market our wool at the shows this year. Well.... the 2008 fall clip came back from the processor and now we can't access the loft due to the 50,000 boxes of wool !!! We may have to re-think this whole thing. I had some of the Icelandic wool blended with Angora goat-----HOLY COW----it's the softest fiber I've ever felt! I'll be 'feeling' it for a LONG time as we have 30lbs. of the stuff.....

Lyndsay bought 2 new breeder Hampshires the other day and they arrived at the farm yesterday. She was *so* excited! Let's see how excited she is when she has to trudge down to the barn in January when they lamb :-) It was hard for her to sell her Hamps from last year..... she got a little too attached. When you ask her about the sale, she'll be quick to tell you that she sold them to a farmer up the road who's NOT going to eat them :-)

Kirby.... the Destructo-Dog

Lilo is getting rather irritated with the dog, lately......

New Discoveries

Well.... Ryan has discovered HULU and is now hooked.  It's great for me as I'm really growing tired of the garbage on TV.  Now,  I have the challenge of preventing him from clicking on a 'less than wholesome' movie :-)  He's forced me to imbed the HULU tag at the bottom of our blog (oh great.... now you, too, can discover the joys of a mantis eating a fly).  Sean trumped Ryry in rock/paper/scissors so now we have Woody for awhile.

Computers are a wonderful thing.  Case in point:  Lyndsay's TV restriction.  I limit TV to 1.5 hours/day----I read that number somewhere.  Maybey more than 1.5 hours causes extreme brainrot??  Not sure.  Anyhow, when I tell (more like scream) at her to "SHUT OFF THE ROT BOX", she jumps on the 'lil computer (it's so tiny, she can jam it in her American Girl Doll wardrobe box).

Lilo has even jumped on the computer bandwagon..... he's addicted to the 'Chutes & Ladders' themesong.  Now I'm forced to listen to singing/screaming little cyber kids at 6am while he eats breakfast.

I think I've done a bad thing..... oh well, it won't be the first.

Sean's Grape Jelly

 

 

 

 

 

Seany lives for this time of year... "grape jelly season". I still think mulberry jelly is his favorite, but grape comes in a close second.  He'd better hide the 2nd grape crate cuz daddy's got a taste for grape wine this year :-)

Lyndsay has been a *tremendous* help with the jelly this year.  She even mashed the grapes while they were on the stove !!  BIG improvement from last year----Lyndsay has this major aversion to gas stoves??  Her biggest job was chasing Lilo out of the kitchen.

Naturally..... we have to test the grape juice before making the jelly.  I couldn't figure out why Liam wouldn't take a nap t'day until I looked at this pic.  Can you say 'SUGAR BUZZ' ?

I think I'll try this........

Fall on the farm

It's beautiful this time of year..... not too hot..... not too cold..... not too green. Green means mowing and I tire quickly of that. Although, the kids and I truly enjoyed 'bush-hogging' new paths through the land. Ryan is the man when it comes to planning the trails. He knows where EVERY bump is on our property.

We've finally downsized the farm and all of us are beginning to feel the relief. We now run about 25 head altogether which is a fine size for us. Lyndsay did a stellar job selling her hampshires---5 in one day !! She's decided to use part of the money she earned from the sale to go to the American Girl Shop in Chicago. I think she's MORE than deserving of that trip :-) We've finished breeding the Hampshires and the Merino/Icelandic crosses. In November we'll be breeding our Icelandic herd. I so hate to pen those girls up..... they love to run free.

We took the garden down yesterday. In a week or so we'll be tilling it up and increasing the size. I want to have a canning garden for next year so we'll probably need to triple the size of the garden. Sean really has enjoyed the garden..... his sunflowers graced him with big beautiful heads this year. He'd live in the garden if you'd let him. Lilo even joined in the harvest this year... although he harvested the WHOLE plant, instead of the vegetable :-)