Winter Blast!

Today my car looked like a Popsicle!  It rained all night and froze on everything.  We have a large flowering tree in our back yard which has two large branches touching the ground and ready to snap off anytime. 

In a Jam

I had my strawberry apron on hand too. 

I made a double batch of Strawberry Citrus Jam yesterday.  I found a lady on Craigslist that was ordering in strawberries from Florida.  I had to get some.  The car had that heavenly scent of fresh strawberries on our trip back from her farm.  With a 19, 20, and 21 year old and myself, the food budget needs all of the help it can get.  I haven't canned for several years, but I decided it was time to give it a go again.  My ingredients were: 14 cups sugar, 2 extra large lemons, 2 blood oranges, (I crushed and pureed the citrus fruits and used most of the rind, 9 cups crushed and pureed strawberries, 2 boxes pectin, 2 tablespoons of citric acid, and one tablespoon butter.  The jam tasted OK last night, but today after it set longer and I refrigerated the family container, it was wonderful!  The texture turned out perfect too.  If you haven't made jam or it has been a while for you, maybe it is time to go for it again.  It makes great gifts too.  Thank you for viewing my blog.  Many blessings for you and yours!  Dawn

Foolish Mistake

My son received an invitation to go to an city wide award ceremony for school.  Well, the letter said Dylan.  No last name was on the letter, but the envelope was addressed to him correctly.  There was criteria for the award, but I did not read it well and it said something about being a leader and roll model.  He is a good leader and roll model most of the time.  He has become much more responsible and has always tried to lead his friends down the right path.   He doesn't want his friends to make some of the mistakes he has made in his past, so he shares his experiences with others.  Tonight we arrived at the ceremony and he checked in.  As Dylan read the names on the award roster, he noticed it was for Dylan L. and not for Dylan J.  They should have caught it when he checked in, but they would have only heard the Dylan from Chisholm.  He was so gracious about the situation.  I doubt most people would have taken it so well.  We had to wait for the principal to arrive and make sure the award was for the other Dylan.  The principal stated that she gave the letter to someone on her staff to mail and the staff member mailed it to the wrong Dylan.  Oops!  Of course we were asked if we wanted to stay and attend the ceremony and everyone was so sorry that this mistake happened.   We chose to leave and go out to dinner at a reasonably nice place as a family unit.  This situation made us all look and feel foolish, but mostly the school looked foolish.  Both first and last names need to be on all correspondence.  I would hate for this to happen again to someone else. 

How was your April Fools Day?  I hope it was a fun April Fool prank if you played one or received one.  Blessings to you all!  Dawnie

Happy Easter!

May you and your family be  blessed!  Dawnie

Run Chicken Run

I have a problem with a neighbor dog that tunnels under the fence and attacks my chickens.  Despite my yelling and pleading with the dog owner, I am afraid it may happen again.  I have priced dog runs and they tend to be very expensive.  I found a double sized dog run in Craigslist.  Once it was delivered and partially put together, I found that it was damaged on the door side and would not stretch out and be plum no matter what pushing and pulling we attempted to do.  However, it fit perfectly in the yard and butts up to the corners of the screened in side of the chicken coop.  It allows our girls to have much play space and even a shade tree.  I opened an area for them to go in and out of in the end portion of the screened side of the coop.  I need to beautify this opening, but the girls should be happy in their new chicken run.    

Thank you for viewing!  May the Lord bless you!  Dawnie

Yoder Small Animal Auction

 

he last Friday of the month at 4pm, there is a small animal auction in Yoder, Kansas.  This month it was held one week early so it would not conflict with Good Friday.  I am posting many pictures from the auction, some taken by me and some were taken by my son and his fiance.  Thank you for viewing!  Dawnie

 

This is me in the pink sweatshirt   --->

Aren't these cute?

Some of the roosters were huge!

Chickens in laundry basket doing what they do best----Lay eggs!

Quack!

Frizzle
Chickens

Another Shawl and a Visit to Mom's

I completed another shawl.  My family and I went to my mothers.   It snowed so we had snow days!  Mom cooked, I knitted, and we all watched videos.