Tissue Paper Flowers

From the Martha Stewart kits at Big Lots last year. The kids and I finished these up today.



Yes, there is a dog on my coffee table.  That's because school is done for the day and the dining room table is now a dining room table and no longer a school desk.  When it's a school desk she sleeps there, but when the computers go away it once again becomes a dinging room table, and obviously dogs are not allowed on dining room tables.  Obviously.


This is all perfectly logical to me these days, which is a little scary...  but really, once you get past the cashmere goat sleeping on the front porch rocker, the dog on the coffee table ceases to seem the least bit weird.  (Piper is back in her pen at the minute..  but she's a Houdini goat and will escape periodically and come up to the front porch to sleep)

Pork Lo Mein


My friend Annie shared this recipe with me, and it was a big hit here last night.  :-)


Pork Lo Mein

1/2 pkg whole wheat spaghetti, uncooked
1/4 cup  Kraft Signature Asian Sesame Dressing
1 lb. (450 g) pork tenderloin, cut into strips
2 cloves  garlic, minced
3 cups frozen stir-fry vegetables, thawed, drained
1/2 cup  25%-less-sodium beef broth
1 Tbsp. Kraft Light Smooth Peanut Butter
1/4 cup  lite soy sauce
2 Tbsp. chopped cilantro
Make It!

COOK spaghetti in large saucepan as directed on package.

MEANWHILE, heat dressing in large nonstick skillet on medium-high heat. Add
meat and garlic; stir-fry 3 min. Add vegetables, broth and peanut butter;
stir-fry 3 to 4 min. or until meat is done.

DRAIN spaghetti; return to pan. Add meat mixture and soy sauce; mix lightly.
Spoon onto platter; sprinkle with cilantro.

How to Remove yourself from Spokeo


 Spokeo is a new online phonebook - but a bit more extreme. They are adding credit scores, photos of your home, etc. Most of it is wildly inaccurate, but you might want to remove yourself anyway. :-) (this is something they add you to without you signing up for it, so you probably have a profile, even though you have never heard of the site before)

www.gilsmethod.com
This guide will explain what Spokeo.com is and the personal information anyone on the web can see, it will also show you how-to delete your Spokeo profile.



Farm Work Monday - Penning The Chickens


For the last two years, Dan has had Monday's off and we have usually spent them on projects here around the farm.  This past week was his last Monday off.  Next Monday he starts classes for his cdl, in addition to working full time, making this our last Farm Work Monday.  Meaning it was the day to get the chickens PENNED!  We had wire fencing strung on metal posts, but it was constantly sagging, not high enough, and the hens were loose everywhere.

8 foot posts, scavenged from a neighbor who had pulled them out and was going to throw them out.


We have a post hole driller for the tractor - scavenged from a relative who had thrown it on his scrap pile. It's dull and not the best, but it still works and saved a lot of digging!

Fence tighteners that used to belong to Dan's dad.  When Dan's mom had the farm sale here, Uncle Bob pulled them out and said to take them down to his shed, they might need them.  When we moved in here, Dan went and got them back from his cousin, and we use them so hard...  always thankful that Uncle Bob pulled them out of the sale pile.  :-)
Nate using the fencing tools.
The bottom wire all strung, and the hens moved back in.  We cleaned out the chicken coop and moved the nesting box outside for now.  Dan already picked up the chicken wire and ran it across the top, making this a 6ft tall fence, but I haven't taken pics of that yet.  :-)

Eggs!  It's so nice to have all the eggs in one spot again!  There had been nests in sheds, shelters, all over the farm.