Checking

Checking things off the to do list, that is!!  This past week Jeff and the children were able to complete the chicken coop and run and moved the birds into their permanent home.  It was quite amusing to see them trying to move the chicken tractor from the front of the house (redneck, or what?  We do have a huge yard that is not seen from the road and the chickens were kept away from the house).  The back yard slopes down, so it was a long process to get the chicken tractor to the coop.  I don't thave pictures of all the little devices that Jeff came up with inside the coop, but will get  some later in the week.

Kaelan was walking behind to make sure the chickens were keeping up with the coop as Jeff was pulling it.

Kaelan climbed in the tractor to get the chickens out one at a time.

She passed the chickens to Aaron who thought it was quite humorous!

The passing of the chicken

Jackson got the final chicken out.

Caedmon was glad NOT to be participating.

This rooster got into a fight with another rooster and now has a broken leg.  He will be in the stewpot soon.

Since that big job was completed Jeff was able to begin some indoor work....on the laundry closet!  Our hot water heater had been leaking and finally quit working altogether.  To remove it meant moving out the washer and dryer.  So after all three were removed along with everything else crammed in there, the vinyl flooring was ripped out, floor and walls were bleached, Zinzer paint was applied to the walls and then a coat of regular paint.  It looks so much better than the bare tongue and groove board!  We are now even more excited to get the rest of the older part of the house painted. Next weekend the laundry closet and small mud room will be tiled.  Then we will install the new hot water heater and some new cabinets. I will be so glad when that is finished!

The Great Declutter Challenge continues and I have gathered up many more books, gadgets and other items to get rid of.   A huge part of the decluttering resulted in moving four sets of bookshelves and reorganizing four others.  There is actually some empty space on some!  We were also able to clean out and reorganize all the freezers and the refrigerator.  This week I will do some kitchen cabinets and maybe even do some in the master bedroom.  Jeff and the boys also found some time to start the decluttering in the barn and garage.  Our big trailer is full of items and trash to haul to the dump next Saturday.

In the midst of all of this we had our three grandchildren ages 4, 2 and 1 here for the weekend and we decorated the house for fall.  We are all a little tired this morning and several of us seem to be coming down with a cold.  I think we are more than ready for some downtime, just doing our normal day-to-day routine with school and housework.

So, did you have a busy weekend?  Are you doing some home improvement projects?  I would love to hear what you have been up to!

http://homesteadrevival.blogspot.com/2011/10/barn-hop-31.html

Preparing for September

Other than purchasing 5 cases of rice milk for my dairy allergic children, I haven't been in food prep mode this week at all.  I did purchase 40 pounds of Granny Smith apples for our daily consumption and I will be making applesauce with them as well.  I have several pounds of carrots that need to be dehydrated (loving having dehydrated carrots to toss into some soup!).  The last of the garden tomatoes will also be dehydrated.  I recently dried several trays, put them in a quart jar, added a handful of dried basil (from my garden) and covered with olive oil.  I think they will be a wonderful addition to our Friday night pizzas or to a pasta salad.  The oil will be used as well!  I am letting it sit for several weeks before trying them out.

As soon as the temperature cools down I hope to set up several canning days for seasoned white beans and beef broth.   I recently acquired Jackie Clay's canning cookbook and am eager to can some of the "instant" meals that she includes...soups, stews, meatballs, sloppy joes and more.  We have enjoyed some quick meals incorporating the pinto beans that I canned a month or so ago and I think having even more quick meals ready to heat from the jars will be a blessing on busy school days.

I do have a new food storage system that is helping me to see exactly what I have on hand and how quickly items are being used.  It seems that we are  using olive oil much more than I had anticipated so I will need to keep much more of that in stock.

The men in the family have continued to work on our permanent chicken coop, not to be confused with the chicken tractors.  Our layers have grown and look beautiful!  It's fun to feed them bread and vegetable scraps a little at a time and watch them run after each morsel.  I know they will enjoy having more room to run around once their new home and run are completed.  We still haven't ordered the meat birds, but will soon.

The fall garden has been planted.  I had intended to order more seeds, but I think we will stick with what we have on hand for now.  My 18 year old son is in charge of the garden and has set out lettuce, spinach, turnips, broccoli and cabbage.  The broccoli and cabbage were started in seed starter and are still on the porch.  It will probably be a couple of weeks before he puts them in the raised beds.  The other seeds were direct sown, but we will be using some type of covering to protect them from the sun as we will still be having very warm temperatures for another 5-6 weeks I am sure.

This morning I will be preparing for our next school week and taking care of some household tasks.  Today is my husband's birthday, so while he and the boys work on the chicken coop the girls and I will be preparing a hamburger feast with an apple cake for dessert.  Our oldest daughter and grandchildren will be here as well, so things will get a little chaotic as well.  Aaron's 15th birthday is on Monday, so we will need to prepare his special egg-free dessert tomorrow.

I also started my Christmas gift list for this year.  I always keep an eye out throughout the year and have a box full of goodies already purchased.  With seven children and soon to be four grands, shopping early is a must!

As I sit here I think of so many tasks that need to be completed.  I think I will list them here and then check back next week to see how much I actually got accomplished.

-defrost large freezer
-clean out refrigerator
-organize kitchen cabinets
-take inventory and make a list of needed bulk purchases
-choose colors and buy paints for our indoor projects
-can beans and broth
-dehydrate carrots and tomatoes
-make a list with prices of all curriculum and learning items that I have for sale
-floor to ceiling and wall to wall cleanings of all the bedrooms

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There's a lot more to do, but I stop here.  I must be realistic.  These will be good goals for the month of September.  What's happening around your little homestead?

The Building of a Chicken Coop

We always have a least one project going on.  Last year at about this time Jeff and the boys gutted and rebuilt the boys' bathroom.  You can see that project here.  The current project is building a chicken coop for our laying hens who should start laying eggs in the next month or two.  A few weeks ago the guys built the base of the new coop. It was a little tricky as the ground is not level.  There is lots of practical learning going on and the boys are gaining many great skills as they work.

Saturday they began constructing the walls after a trip to Lowe's.

Here Aaron and Jordan work together on the frame.  One wall is already up.

It takes all of them to get the job done.  Jackson loves to be out working with his daddy!!

Chamblee and Sons Handy Man Service

Jeff and Jackson stand behind the wall.  I think it's looking good!

Now there are two walls completed.  The door will face the house and a couple of windows will be added for ventilation.  You can see the gambrel roof frame on the floor.

And, yes, we have a huge unfinished barn/workshop/storage building behind the new chicken coop.  Hopefully, it will be completed one day.

Jackson is proud of the work that has been done.

You can find the plans that Jeff is using right here:  http://mystorageshed.blogspot.com/  He will make adaptions to include nesting boxes, ventilation and a chicken exit.  ; )

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http://healthyhomesteading.com/2011/08/raising-homesteaders-blog-hop-1/