Remember about a month ago how everything I was making had zucchini in it? Well, since we planted our tomatoes late, we now have an abundance of those delicious, red beauties. Next to a zucchini, a fresh, garden tomato can't be beat!

I had a recipe for sausage stuffed tomatoes that I'd been hanging onto for a week or two. I really wanted to try it, but for some reason or another I just never got around to it... until today. I went out to the garden, found about ten medium-ish tomatoes, and ski...
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Maybe it is crazy to do all this stuff that Mister and I have been doing. Maybe growing your own food, preserving that same food you grew, butchering your own animals, and cooking all your own meals is crazy. But if it is, I really don't want to be sane. I guess the only difference between myself and the people who think it's crazy are the things we buy at the grocery store. 

This past week we added quite a few things to the Twin Cedars. 



Thanks to a former student of mine, her mama, and their ...
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I tried to make pie crust once... then twice... then a third and fourth time... Every time it was the hardest thing ever. How can something that only has three or four ingredients in it be so stinkin' hard to make!? 

Well, when my friend graciously gave me the recipe for her tomato pie and made the remark, "You can use a store bought pie crust, but something this good needs a homemade one..." I knew that I had to make my crust myself... again.

So, instead of using the same recipe I had (which w...
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Remember when I was complaining about the nasty ducks? What about when I shared how pleased I was with how well my chickens were growing?

Well, nasty ducks, growing chickens... meet The Incredible Mr. Fox. 

Need I say more? I went out Wednesday morning to Jessie's barking. Mister had already left for work so it was up to yours truly to see what the fuss was about. I thought she was just barking at her tennis ball which had been stuck in a bush somehow. However, when I went to give it to her she...
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It's been a crazy day. Work was great, but when I got home I soon realized we had reached a whole new level of crazy. The ducks... the ducks. The. ducks. are. disgusting. They're cute, don't get me wrong, but they have got to be the messiest creatures I have ever had to take care of. With that said, I would still rather clean duck poop than cat poop... just to clarify that there are still things nastier. I peeked over the brooder when I got home to see a soupy mess. They had splashed their wa...
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... is never bring an animal home you aren't prepared for. Right? How many times does that rule get broken? We broke it this past Friday when we brought home four young ducks from the auction. The lighting at an auction must be bad for a reason. That way, you can't tell exactly what you're getting. The ducks spent the night in a small rabbit hutch and come daylight, well, I saw exactly what I had bought. 

Those poor things looked rough. Really, that's an understatement. At least two had absolu...
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AH! I can't believe I've let a whole week slip by without blogging. Truth is, this week marked the first week back to school. And, let me tell you... it. has. been. busy. So much so that, I have to admit, I have been shamefully cranky. I don't know hay it's gotten me in such a tizzy. Maybe it's that I've never had this kind of responsibility. The end of this month will be our one year anniversary of being homeowners. We jumped head first into animals, building, gardening, and preserving and t...
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You may remember me talking about our fiasco with our nine chickens... You know, the flock that ran away the first day we were gone on vacation. Yeah. I'm still getting over that one. It made me so mad! But with each little flock we have had we have learned things. Lots of valuable things. So, I have big hopes for these girls we have now. We ordered these girls in the middle of June when we got back from our trip. MyPetChicken had a sale on Golden Buff chicks (aka Red Stars). They were sellin...
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This morning at 7:00 you would have found me on the front porch. From there I could see the girls (our Red Star chickens) lining up and tip toeing down their ramp ready to meet the sun. Loretta and Lynn (our pygmies) made their way out of their house, too, with plenty of quiet bleats, waiting to be noticed... and myself? Well, I was filling water balloons and putting them into the YETI until there wasn't room for more. Jessie Belle helped by chasing the water hose and trying to lap up any ext...
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