Sunday Afternoon in the Kitchen

In the winter, when the weather is bad and I've spent the last week walking outside in the elements I enjoy a Sunday afternoon in the kitchen.  I usually have a big meal planned, something I wouldn't make during the week, a couple of cds rotating in the stereo (yes, I still play cds - no Ipod play lists), and a bottle of wine open.



I start the day by warming the house with the oven and sourdough french bread.

 



Then combine sweet and hot sausage into delicious little meatballs.

 



All while sauce is simmering on the stove.

 



Fresh is always best.

 



 

That goes for pasta, too.

The rich yellow color is from the fresh eggs.

 



Layer it all with three different cheeses.

 Viola!

A sumptuous meal for a dreary Sunday.

Two Chickens in a Pot, No a Nestbox!

According to the chicken books a nesting box should be 12 x 12 for the comfort of a chicken when laying an egg.  Well, due to the design of our coop our nesting box is 15 x 25.  I could've made two separate smaller boxes but with the sloping roof the door had to be in the middle.  Thus, I thought it best to have one bigger box.  Now we have found eggs at one end or the other and sometimes at both, but we have never seen two chickens sharing the box at the same time.  Annie is a year old and Scrappy is two.  They are both rather calm and submissive girls, but even this is a stretch for them.

 A peek through the door - Annie & Scrappy.

 

 From above it resembles a "two-holer" outhouse!

 

Sure enough, 2 chickens = 2 eggs.

Apparently girls go to the ladies room together in the animal kingdom too!

 

Chicken Humor:

What do you call a chicken coop with four doors?

A chicken Sedan!

Stown Got Old!

Happy Birthday!!

 

Jim, Me, Stown & Lilly
 
Stown turned 19 in February.
To celebrate, we all went out for dinner.

 

Flashback...

Back in January, Jim and I went Ridgeway to visit his parents who were "wintering" there. 

We found a few picture worthy items.

 I fell in love with this turtle in the park!

 

(click to enlarge - it's funny to read!)

 

We wondered just how bad the local drivers are that the crosswalk isn't safe enough.  Pedestrians are instructed to wave orange flags when crossing the street to increase their visablity.

 

 

As always, I fall off the communications scene through out the winter. So, my dear readers who are used to this can look foward to some "catch-up" posts.  Thanks for hanging in there with me for another year!

Winter Solstice

Happy Winter Solstice!

Without much snow in the mountains for snowboarding, we headed southwest towards the desert for some late season hiking.

Together, on this the shortest day of the year, we hiked as a family amongst the ancient cliff dwellings and pondered how important this day must have been to the long gone inhabitants.

 

We took time out of the preciously short lit day to rebuild a cairn.

 

Jim and Stown overlook a deep box canyon, wondering how much has changed since the last civilization decided to take up residence here.

 

 We found mountain lion tracks.

 

We found rodent tracks.

 

 Doug and Aspen compared their feet to the footprint of a mountain lion.

Sizable difference, they concluded.

 

Stown explored the nooks and crannies of the canyon walls.

 

We stopped for a late lunch, perched up in the pockets of a cliff.

 

Shortly after lunch, the weather started to change.  A wind picked up and cloud cover masked the sky.  We picked up our pace heading back towards the car.  We got to the car and drove home, arriving just before dark and the first signs of snow.  To conclude the day, we indulged in big plates of roast and roots that had been simmering in the crock pot all day.  We exchanged gifts and called it an early night.  Stown headed home and Jim and I headed to bed.  Slumber comes early on these long cold winter nights, perhaps because we are so rushed to make the most of the short days.  Maybe because we burn so much more energy while working outside to stay warm in the cold.  Either way, I am cherishing this time of year to recharge my physical batteries.

 

Now, the days are getting longer - if only by a minute or two.  Soon it will be spring, then summer, then... well you know how fast the seasons and the years pass.  So, I hope you take the time needed to recharge and have the energy needed to live in love, peace and understanding. 

 

LOVE TO ALL!

 



No Shave November?! Oops!

So, last month I went to the dentist and he had some chin scruff.  I asked if it was a "Hunting Season Beard".  He replied while uncomfortably scratching his jaw,"No, it's No Shave November.  My girlfriend's making me do it".  ??  Turns out it's a fundraiser for the American Cancer Society.

 

Apparently, Jim and I are out of the mainstream loop because Jim choose to SHAVE in November.  After 2 years of facial hair neglect, Jim decided it was time to pull the clippers out of storage and see what his bare face looked like again.  Of course, something this monumental requires documentation:

 

 One last look at the bearded beast!

 

I don't help, just watch through the camera lens.

 

It peels off like a bad Halloween accessory.

 

 WOW!

A handful of beard and a creepy 70's style mustache...

I'm not really sure how sexy this is for me.

Hey honey, do you have any candy or drive a van?

 

 I briefly contemplate a career in the circus.

 

Now that's hot!

I haven't seen that jawline in years!

(so much more kissable...wink, wink!)

 

We realized that when Jim shaved the beard and he shaved off years of aging.  We hadn't really noticed how much grey had snuck up on his chin and how much older it made him look.  Now I feel like a cradle robber with my "new" younger looking husband!

Day Off Around the House

Fall is the time of year I usually dedicate a day off to staying home and getting the garden cleaned up and put ito bed for the winter.  Sometimes I clean the house, too!

The overflowing dining area.

Yes, under all accumilated crap, there really is a kitchen table. 

Or atleast that's the rumor - I haven't seen it in weeks.

 

WOW!

Time to move the house plants in off the back deck, too.

 

 Potato Bed - Before

 

 Potato Bed - After

Only a small crop (7 lbs) but it was an experiment this year.

 

 A "new" hoop house over the potato bed.

"New" as in used and gifted to us by a friend.

 

 A relocated and semi-protected grape tomato plant.

 

Fall lettuce sprouts in the recently turned 'tater bed.

 



My kitchen herb bed was being overrun by the tarragon.

After realizing just how little tarragon I actually use and how space consuming it was I pulled it all up.  I halved the sage bush and dug back the marjoram too.  Then I planted a ton (maybe 40?) garlic bulbs for next year.

 

The chickens enjoyed all the fresh herbs, little did they know I was trying to season them from the inside!  Ok, maybe not.  But with the shorter days, colder weather and my three layers in molt, the  egg production is pretty low.  We have wondered when the first one will end up in the soup pot.

 

Happy Fall to Ya!