Winter Has Arrived!!!

Yuck!!! Just when I thought we had winter on the down hill side, up pops some freezing precipitation. The forecast was for 6" of snow beginning yesterday thru today. Thankfully, that did not happen. We had some freezing rain last night, enough that school was cancelled today. But the snow did not materialize. We have had some flurries this morning, and a little bit of sleet, but no real snow. I must say that I am relieved we did not get the horrible weather that was predicted. The older I get, the less I like winter. Fall is my favorite season, then spring. Summertime, well, it's O.K. And while I truly don't like it when it's above 90 degrees, I must say that on days like today, where its 12 degrees and sleeting . . . . . . COME ON SUMMER!!!!!

4-H Ham Curing

As one of Alex's 4-H projects, she is curing a ham. On Saturday, Alex and I went down to Burger's Smokehouse which graciously every year allow the kids to use their facilities. In case you've not heard of it, Burger's (http://www.smokehouse.com/) has the most awesome ham and bacon, and hundreds of other products, you've ever tasted. They ship worldwide and also sell at local grocery stores. As this is her first year, she did two hams in case one didn't turn out. We got to Burger's about 7:20 a.m. (they opened at 7 a.m.) and were surprised to see a LOT of kids already there. There were two big stainless steel tables full of hams for you to choose.

We didn't really know which ham to choose, so we asked a Burger's employee for his opinion. Once Alex picked her hams, she went over to a big stainless steel tub full of "cure." This is sugar, salt, spices and nitrate. This "cure" is rubbed all over the ham. A couple of handfuls of cure are placed on a big white sheet of paper, the ham is placed on top of that, and more cure is placed on top of the ham. It is then wrapped, covered with a cloth, and a piece of baler twine is tied at the end for hanging. We brought the hams home to hang up in the top of our barn for several months. We learned that hams shouldn't freeze for 72 hours after the cure is first put on them, so the hams are now in our downstairs refrigerator. It is supposed to be brutually cold this week, so it may be the weekend before these hams actually get put outside. We had a lot of fun and I'll keep you posted on the progress of the hams.

You Thought I'd Forgotten

I know, I know, you thought I'd forgotten ALL ABOUT GAS PRICES. She's been busy you say, she's working, running those kids back and forth you say, keeping things moving on that turkey and cattle farm you say, yep, she's forgotten. NO WAY!!! It's just that I HATE to be the bearer of bad news sooooooooo, that said, I must tell you that gas prices in Eldon are on the rise. $1.69 for regular unleaded. Sorry.

This Is What You Do . . . . .

This is what you do when you are 15 years old, AND YOU WILL BE 16 YEARS OLD IN 55 DAYS, and it is a gorgeous winter day . . . . you wash your truck! This is the 1998 Chevy 4X4 pickup that Cole will be driving on March 5, 2009, assuming he passes the driving test!

This Is What You Do . . . .

This is what you do when you are 12 years old. When you are 12, and it is one of those GORGEOUS winter days when the temperature gets up to nearly 70 degrees - YOU LAY ON THE COUCH AND READ!!!!!