Around the Homestead

Hi! I can’t even remember where I left off at on my last post. I know one week we were enjoying warmth and sunshine, and the next week, WHAM, we had snow and it was cold!

A week before the snow we were picking these.

October Strawberries

And enjoying these.

Strawberry Smoothies

Quentin works an hour and a half away from home and had 18 inches of snow. He closed up at 1:00 on Oct. 30 and got to come home early! We always love when that happens. Since there wasn’t that much snow here we went thrift shopping. We found all kinds of goodies-Christmas glasses, baby bottles for our baby goat, a glass milk container for when we have goats milk, Christmas fabric, and more!

Thrift store goodies

The kids dressed up and went trunk-or-treating on Halloween. It was Madison’s last year. She is tired of begging for candy anyways. 🙂

Madison wore her poodle skirt from a couple of years ago.

McKenzie went as a prairie girl.

Quentin Jr. dressed up as Quentin!

Quentin is on vacation this week so we are taking a break from school. I feel like our school year is moving along wonderfully! We are really enjoying spending the week together. Yesterday, we put down laminate flooring in our bedroom, Friday we will learn to butcher chickens(I am really excited for this), and this weekend we are going to Dollywood to watch their Christmas shows and see the lights.

Laminate flooring in my bedroom.

We are excited for the upcoming holidays. Madison has been working on our Thanksgiving menu, and we have been watching a Christmas movie every night in anticipation for Christmas. Things are starting to slow down, and we are enjoying the peace and quiet.

Random Blessings

An October Rose

Beautiful Fall Colors

Mums Still Blooming

More Mums

Last Week’s Wood Pile

More Wood

A kitten named Dirt. Somehow this little boy wiggled his way into our hearts and is a permanent resident now!

Chickens 🙂

Willow and Lilac

It was a beautiful day around here today! There was plenty of sunshine with a little wind. I was able to dry three loads of clothes out. So glad because I was behind! I took plenty of pictures while feeding the animals to share with you today. 🙂

We had an okay week of school last week only getting in three days. We did get in shoe shopping, and McKenzie had her yearly eye appointment.

We left at eight o’clock Saturday morning and headed to Grundy to spend the weekend with Quentin’s parents. We got there around eleven. In the evening the guys went hunting and the girls went shopping. We had lasagna and cherry pie for supper-yum! Sunday morning we went to church and spent the rest of the day at Breaks Interstate Park. We ate at a yummy BBQ place and visited a lot of different overlooks. So pretty this time of year!

We had a pretty good day of school today considering we got home late last night and I was unprepared. We watched a Drive Thru History video for History and a Moody Science video for Science. I am thinking we need to do that more often. 🙂

I hope everyone has a great week!
:)Vicki

I am linking up to:

Our Week

We were blessed with another great week. We got in four days of school, and we are really enjoying our new science curriculum. Everyone is doing the same science since it is listed for 7th grade and for ages 11, 12, & 13. That is exactly what I have! Most lessons are backed with some sort of experiment which everyone is enjoying. The experiments are helping me understand and remember what we’re learning. I think they are helping my kids too. 🙂

The first experiment we did was Density in Nature.

Madison’s observations in her science journal.

Our second experiment was Atomic Motion.

McKenzie’s observations.

Thursday was a no school day. The boys went hunting. The girls and myself washed quilts and cleaned bathrooms. In the afternoon we went for a walk through the woods with the Dawsons. I love hiking in the fall and hearing the leaves crunch under my feet. Thursday night we cut some firewood.

Bambi is always happy to go anywhere at all!

While thrift shopping last week McKenzie found a manger for $1.50 at the Salvation Army. We have a thing for nativities. I bought these wooden nativity figures to go in her manger off ebay.  I think it made an adorable set. She will take them with her when she is grown to have in her own house. 🙂

So cute!

Friday night Quentin surprised with flowers and Lays dill pickle chips. Does anyone else love dill pickle chips?

A cornucopia with flowers. We can’t wait to fill it with fresh fruit once the flowers die.

Madison is working on a quilt.  I think it is called Sunbonnet Sue. She has her first quilt square finished. We planned on it being our winter project so she is trying not to complete it so fast.

Sunbonnet Sue-I think. 🙂

We had tacos this week and turned our flour tortillas into taco bowls. They tasted just like the ones you get at a Mexican restaurant. Since they were so easy to make I thought I would share them with you. 🙂 We used the recipe found here.

Homemade taco bowls.

And that was our week. I hope you were blessed with a great as well!

:)Vicki

A Fall Break

Last week was our fall break from school, and Quentin took a week of vacation. He goes back to work tomorrow, and we will miss him badly! I can’t wait to dive back into the books this week-I really did miss it. We are starting a new science curriculum-Apoligia Exploring Creation with General Science, and Madison is starting keyboarding. It should be an interesting week of school around here!

There was a lot of work going on during our break. Monday, Tuesday, Wednesday, and Thursday was spent putting down laminate flooring.  Tearing up carpet, padding, and linoleum is not much fun! I am glad it is over.

The Den

Living Room

Dining Room

And Kitchen

Friday we went thrift shopping and bowling with the Dawson’s. It was a lot of fun and felt good to have a fun day out!

Saturday was opening day of bow season here, and Quentin got his first deer. The girls and I stayed home and caught up on housework.

Today we went to meet the people that we are getting our baby bottle buckling from in December. Her Nigerian dwarfs were all beautiful, and she had the calmest, sweetest buck ever. He was a handsome fellow. I hope our buck grows up to look and act just like his dad. We are first on the waiting list and get the first pick.

We are down to two little kittens. They will be going to people at Quentin’s work this week. We are going to make an appointment tomorrow to get our last unfixed cat fixed. I think we have had all the kittens we can handle.

Our kittens are sweet and cuddly and come pre-spoiled!

Today is rainy and cold and our temps have not reached 50º. We are enjoying our first fire to warm us up.

Keeping Warm

I hope everyone has a nice week!

:)Vicki

I am linking up to:

Grayson Highlands Festival

We enjoyed a day out today with friends at the Grayson Highlands Festival. There were tons of crafts for sale, a wild pony auction(oh how I want one!), and yummy food.

Making Molasses

Checking Out the Ponies

They were so beautiful!

Such Pretty Leaves

It was a wee bit cold and rainy-we had fun anyway.

I thought this gate was so cute. I’m not sure if I want to use it outside or keep it inside.

And as if today wasn’t exciting enough, Bub got his first deer. Today was youth hunting day in Virginia.

I hope you all are having a wonderful weekend!

:)Vicki

Fall is Here!

I was so excited for fall to get here, now I am just cold! 🙂 It was 37º when I got up this morning. We were under a frost advisory, but there is no frost on the pumpkins just yet. 🙂

Last Thursday was moving day for the goats and chickens. We put their houses down by the road under the tree. It was the only semi-level spot. They are adjusting well, and we are even getting more eggs!

So much more room! It has been funny watching the chickens chase grasshoppers.

One of our silkie hens was sitting on 5 eggs but only 3 hatched. Our other hen wasn’t sitting on eggs; she was just keeping the other hen company. 🙂

These little guys are 4 weeks old now and starting to eat. That will give mama kitty a bit of a break, I hope, as she is feeding 10 kittens!

Yesterday we picnicked on the parkway and visited Mabry Mill. We think it the first time that we have been there while the wheel was running.

There were ladies inside this building spinning wool and weaving.

This man was building ladder back chairs.

My very big babies! 🙂

Madison & Bambi

McKenzie

Quentin Jr.

I hope everyone is enjoying the coziness of fall!

I am linking up to:

Homestead Happenings

We have been busy around here doing the usual!  We have worked on school work, kept up with chores, taken care of animals, and even fit in a little getaway.

Our garden is tired and ready for a rest.  The goats have been very good at helping us clean up. We have been gathering up our last bit of garden goodness.  We have had watermelon each day with our lunch for the past month.  They are going to be missed when they are gone!  Also we gathered the carrots, onions, and peppers this past weekend.

Our weather has only got up to 70 the past couple of days and our nights have been in the 50’s.  Leaves are starting to turn red and fall from the trees. Something about fall really excites me!

garden carrots

peppers & onions

gourds & pumpkins

yummy watermelons

I wish you all a great week!

:)Vicki

I am linking this post up to

September 1st

Wow, September already!  I love September days.  Nice, warm, and summery during the day. Nice, cool, and fall-like mornings and nights!

We have completely 100% finished fencing in the field.  The dogs and goats are taking turns enjoying the new space.  Caspian will be 2 years old this Christmas and has calmed down so much allowing us to play and walk with him in the field not jumping on us or the kids at all.  I am so proud of him. He comes when called and sits for us to get his leash on him.  When we lock the goats and chickens up at night; the dogs will protect the field.

Quentin and Caspian

It will still be another week or two before the goats move to their new home.  We are gradually getting them used to pasture.  We don’t want them to bloat.  They have spent an hour in the field the past three days.  The kids and I  run through the fields with them following right behind.  They are so funny when they run!

Lilac on the left Willow on the right

What do we eat next?

There are 10 new kittens, and they are super cute!

So sweet!

And ducklings-again!  This is the third hatching this year for mama duck.

Seven new ducklings

We also have two silkies setting.  Their eggs will start hatching on the 11th.  Our critters do keep us busy!

Our school year is still going really well.  We have been getting in 4 days each week.  We had to change our schedule a bit, but I think we finally found a schedule that works for us.

Our day now looks like this:

7:00 feed goats and tidy house

7:30 breakfast

8:00 History/Science/Health(Right now we are working on history & health)

8:30 Math

10:30 Spelling

11:00 lunch

11:30 break

12:00 English

2:00 Reading

3:00 outdoor chores then free time

Today we have dusted, vacuumed, and cleaned bathrooms.  Quentin works all weekend, but is off next weekend so next weekend will be our Labor Day weekend. 🙂

I hope everyone has a wonderful Labor Day weekend!

:)Vicki

I am linking up to:

Fence Pictures

We have made a lot of progress on our fence this past week.  It still isn’t finished(we only have a few more feet to go), but I thought I would share a few pictures anyway.

It has been fun (and a lot of hard work).  I don’t think we did too bad for our first time. 🙂

I am linking up to:

What’s Been Happening

Hi!  I hope you all are enjoying your last bit of summer.  Our nights and mornings are much cooler which has me all excited for fall.

a touch of fall from our garden

Our gardening has almost come to an end.  We only have okra, watermelon, and tomatoes left.  I was seriously considering letting the rest of the tomatoes rot on the vine, but I picked 4 gallons today.  I will can all of those and pick again for tomato juice.  I will be glad I didn’t waste them when we are eating chili and soup this winter.

canned tomatoes

We have been concentrating heavily on school, and we are back to doing school four days a week.  Quentin is taking a week of vacation next month, and I am sure the kids will be good and ready for a break.

We have got a lot done on our fence.  I know you must be thinking we are the slowest fence builders ever and we are!  We now have a gate, almost all of the posts in, and started putting up the wire fence. I can’t wait to get the goats in the field and share some pictures with you!  We plan on adding a bottle baby buckling for Christmas and having our own kids and goat milk by fall 2013.

I have been in a decorating and dessert mood lately.  I will leave you with a picture of my latest try at decorating and a recipe.

I bought these metal chickens off ebay for a whole .99 and put them on top of the entertainment center. I know I am no Martha Stewart.  At least I didn’t buy another chair! 🙂

metal chickens

My dad loved peanut butter, and he loved peanut butter pie even more.  We made one yesterday and just put another in the freezer.  It will most likely become our breakfast tomorrow morning!

Peanut Butter Pie

peanut butter pie

1/2 cup peanut butter

8 oz. cream cheese

1 cup powdered sugar

1/2 cup milk

8 oz. whipped topping

1 9in graham cracker crust

mix cream cheese until fluffy

blend in peanut butter and powdered sugar

slowly add milk and fold in whipped topping

put in pie shell and freeze until set

It is very good but very rich.  Half a piece usually does it for me.

Have a great week!

:)Vicki