RODENTS, RAIN, AND A GREAT LOOKING RACK

What a great weekend we had! Just the 2 of us - it was like old times. We drove Big Daddy's old "beater" up to the cabin and good thing. The road/path was horrendous! Trees down across the road, wash-outs in a couple of spots and mud....knee-deep boot-sucking mud! I haven't had the ummm pleasure of riding in his old CRV for quite some time - with the cracked windshield and unmistakable smell. lol We had our first date in that old car....ahhhhh the memories!

We took Belley girl for a little walk as soon as we got there. Over to the hill where we'll eventually build; down to the old foundation; through the garlic field. There were tons of moose and deer tracks....and we found this:

The sun was shining...man I love our little chunk of paradise!!

So back to the cabin to get things fixed up. What a mess! What a smell! It was worse than Big Daddy's CRV. We got the windows open, donned our masks and started by clearing the place out. Everything went outside....and that's when the rain started! Tooooo funny! It poured. We got soaked! Finally found the source of the smell - a total of 10 dead mice. Then the generator wouldn't go so we couldn't finish what we had planned.

I guess that's the downfall to being a weekend homesteader. We only have a limited amount of time to get a huge list of stuff done. And no matter what happens, we still have to head home on Sunday night.

So let's hope everything runs a little smoother this weekend. I've got a field that needs tilling! Long range forecast - 90% chance of rain....hooboy, here we go again! LOL

Belley girl - a little cold, wet and tired:

PLANS

I can't believe it's almost May!! After months of making plans, budget-making, revising those plans and budgets, doing our part to stimulate the economy, and dreaming big dreams, our Pull The Trigger Project finally starts this weekend!! Woohoo! And good thing too...our yard is starting to look like Sanford and Sons. lol

Big Daddy and I will head north without the little ones (gulp!) to do a major clean-up at the cabin. Hopefully we can drive right in this time. We had to hoof it in (about a half mile), last month. We had perfect conditions though...we could walk right on top of the snow without sinking. Here's what it looked like:

So our plan is:

Weekend #1 - clean up and disinfect the cabin. Hopefully remove ALL the unwanted ummm tenants. Not as easy as it sounds, believe me!

Weekend #2 - Build the forms for the new shed base. Start tilling my field. Yippee!!!

Weekend #3 - Pour cement pad. Continue tilling my field. Then visit the chiropractor! lol

Weekend #4 and start of 10 days of holidays for Big Daddy - erect the new shed and rent a cube van to move fencing materials, equipment, tools and toys up north. There's a LOT of stuff here.

Of course the field needs to be fenced and my garden needs to be planted all before May 24 too.

Yup, it's going to be busy but we can't wait! The little ones are soooo excited about staying at the cabin this year and to rip around on Mommy's new toy...I mean totally essential farm equipment! hehe

So stay tuned for the Pull The Trigger Project adventures....gonna need a bigger first-aid kit, I just know it! lol

CANNER

Ever since Chris over at Johnson Family Farm blogged about canning, I've been itching to get me one! lol Well, mine finally arrived last week! Woohoo! I did some serious bird-dogging online...but finally settled on a 23 quart Presto Pressure Canner. It was the best bang for my buck and my local hardware store brought it in for me. Man, I thought I got some wild stares and snickers when I pick up my freebie buckets....but that was nothing compared to the hoopla over the canner!! Waaay too funny! What I couldn't believe about it...was how flippin big it is!

It's supposed to handle 7 quart jars, 20 pints

or 25 pounds of love!! LOL

I can't wait to get this thing fired up! Okay Chris...what do I can first?

IT'S A BUG PLANET

In preparation of the onslaught of mosquitoes at the cabin this year, and knowing full well that spraying my little ones with DEET is not an option, I have opted for full body armour.

It is very apparent after years of swatting and swearing, we cannot beat 'em...so we might as well join 'em. Become one with the bug!

The search was on for the ultimate bug jacket and I found 3 possible sources.

The first company had fabulous deals...$14.99 for a full hooded jacket. One problem, they don't stock them! Okay, strike 1.

The second company had them for $19.99, but honestly the mesh/screen used in the hood part was way too dark. I could just see our little people bumping into things or tripping, the jackets would be off in a flash, they'd be bitten from head to toe, then they'd swell up like a carnival balloon, hospital visits would follow....well you get the picture.

Then I found this:

Look at this happy family, having the time of their lives, laughing at the bugs! Now that's what I'm looking for. Oh they were a little more expensive at Lee Valley, but I did get a surprise when I ordered them...the kids' jackets come with a set of leggings. Neat!

Now I can't wait for spring....bugs and all.

MASON JAR LIGHT

Look what Jim found!! I'm so excited!! Turning a mason jar into a light source is just brilliant! Did you know that these little gems existed? Such a great idea, I ordered up a ten pack!! lol Thanks Jim!!! Oh and if you missed his link, you can order them from here.

IN A PINCH

If you ever need a very fast and easy dessert that can be pulled out of thin air...then this is it.

You're going to need:

1 can of crushed pineapple

1 angel food cake mix

Here comes the complicated part:

Dump the can of crushed pineapple - juice and all - into a medium bowl with the angel food cake mix. Beat for about 1 minute.

Pour into one of those "fancy" pans and bake, using the temperature and baking time from the cake mix box.

Cool, invert pan, slice up and top with whipped cream....oh and some berries would be nice too!

Big Daddy loves this dessert because it isn't heavy and overly sweet! Silly man!

SOURDOUGH ENGLISH MUFFINS

Well, I'm back at it...sourdough everywhere! lol I whipped up a second batch of starter and haven't put it in the fridge...and it's working marvelously! Thank you Garden Girl for that tidbit! I've been baking sourdough every other day, getting the hang of it. I was feeling a little adventurous so I thought I'd try Garden Girl's sourdough english muffin recipe. They are wonderful!

Okay, so here's what you'll need:

1 cup of starter

1 1/2 cups of milk (warm)

5 - 6 cups of flour

1 Tbsp sugar

1 Tbsp salt

1 tsp baking soda

Mix 1 cup of sourdough starter with 1 1/2 cups of milk and 3 cups of flour. Cover bowl with plastic wrap and let it sit for 2 - 24 hours.

When your sponge has developed, mix the sugar, salt and soda into 2 cups of flour. You're supposed to just stir this into the sponge, but really it's much more fun to use your hands to mix it. If you can get a bit more flour into this mixture - go ahead - I couldn't. Cover and let it work up to an hour.

Flour counter and hands. Turn your dough out and knead for 2 - 3 minutes until smooth. With a floured rolling pin, roll out the dough to 1/4 - 1/2 inches thick. Cut out circles 3 - 4 inches in diameter. Place these muffins onto a cornmeal sprinkled cookie sheet and let rest for 15 minutes.

Place 4 - 5 circles on a lightly greased skillet on low, low heat with the cornmeal side down first. Cook for 10 minutes. Gently flip the muffins over and cook another 10 minutes. Cool on a rack.

Split the muffins, toast them, smother in butter and have at 'er!

Okay, so I have to fess up to making a couple of mistakes....nothing we couldn't eat though!

My cutter wasn't big enough afterall...next time I'll use a washed out can like Garden Girl.

I also didn't roll the dough out thin enough. They looked fine here on the cookie sheet but....

as soon as they hit the heat....they got too puffy and didn't quite get thoroughly cooked in the middle. Didn't really matter, the toaster fixed that problem.

You can see how tall they got in this photo. Oh and when Garden Girl says cook them on low, low heat for 10 minutes....it doesn't mean on medium heat for 6 minutes! hahahaha I was just saving time. Lesson learned.


Okay, so here's the final product:

I'm going to need some practice with this recipe....next time: larger cutter, thinner dough, lower heat. Go visit Garden Girl and see her final product - they're gorgeous! Thanks Garden Girl for another sourdough adventure!!

I'm trying bagels next....stay tuned!