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By Penny, January 12, 2010 4:49 am

I am notorious for procrastinating. It has been a habit since childhood. I had a bit of an epiphany as to why, but I will blog about that later. However, here is what it cost me this time.

To put it mildly, I have not always been diligent with going through my paperwork, such as bills and mail. I would like to be able to say that it was from being displaced due to the fire, but, alas, these snafus are from well before the fire.

During my cleaning blitzkrieg, I went through boxes of paper work from my bedroom. There were bills which needed paying, which was no surprise. However, I found a $50 check from over-paying my mortgage fees. From my last house! It was from May of 2008. The worse one was a $100 check lodged in a wedding card. We were married on June 14, 2008, so, needless to say, that check was well past its due date, as it were.

In order to try and salvage the situation, I did a few things. I called the number on the check from Wells Fargo. They said they would reissue it, and it arrived in the mail today. Unfortunately, the wedding check did not turn out as well. I called the gift giver, to let him know that I had found the check and would be destroying it. He didn’t volunteer to send a new one, so I will be surprised to see a replacement.

Final Score:
Penny-50
Procrastination- 100
Procrastination kicks my butt, yet again. Sigh

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By Penny, January 11, 2010 3:43 am

My dear husband recieved a text message today, offering him a deer. We had to drive an hour and half to get it, but it was well worth the drive.  Loading it into the back of truck, we drove home and hung it in the garage. 

 After dinner, we skinned it, taking care not to cut the meat and leave it on the skin.  Behind cut: picture of me skinning the deer.

Because deer fat has such a high melting point, it is unpallatable. Moreover, it has a reputation for going rancid quickly, even in the freezer.  So we trimmed off as much fat as possible. One of the best parts of the deer is the backstrap, the large muscle running along the sides of the spine.   The following picture shows the cuts my husband made in order to remove the backstrap.After that, we quartered it and cut off any small pieces of meat that were clinging to the carcass.  We took them in the house, rinsed them off and bagged them for canning this week.

 Butchering and clean up took roughly two hours, though it might have gone faster, had we not needed to stop to warm our hands due to the cold weather and frozen carcass.

Just another day on the Copperwyre homestead. ) 

And for some gratuitous dog pictures, since they enjoyed the butchering, too:

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By Penny, January 10, 2010 3:38 am

Being as we have ten ducks who lay eggs, we have an abundance of eggs. Not many people have been buying them, so I have to figure out what to do with them. I bake frequently, but with only a few eggs used per dessert, I was not keeping up. A friend asked if I could make her pickled eggs, something I had not considered. Considering that my husband loves them, I am surprised I hadn’t thought of it. I found a recipe in Self Reliance: Recession-Proof Your Pantry from Backwoods Home Magazine. I tweaked the recipe quite a bit though, as I didn’t have pre-mixed pickling spices.

First, I hard-boiled twenty eggs. To hardboil eggs, I bring the water to a boil, then turn off the heat and let the eggs sit for at least twenty minutes. After that, I peel the eggs, using a spoon to work the peel free.

While I peeled the eggs, I put the pickling brine on to boil. In a pot, I put a cup of white vinegar, a cup of apple cider vinegar, a quart and half of water, and two tsps of salt. After that, I veered away from the recipe. My friend remembered her mom adding onions to her recipe, so I chopped up a purple onion.

After that, I added a tsp of whole cloves, a tsp of mustard seeds, a tsp of all spice, 1/2 tsp of ground cinnamon, 1/2 tsp of chile powder, and a 1/4 cup of sugar.  I then had the brine come to a boil.  After it came to a boil, I added the eggs.

 After the brine came to a boil with the eggs and onions, I packed them into hot, sterilized jars.  I hot water bathed them for ten minutes. Don’t they look pretty?

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By Penny, January 9, 2010 2:30 pm

During vacation, I spent time getting my house in order. I came to the conclusion that I cannot focus on other things until my house is in order.  To that end, I cleaned each room in the house, putting things away. Some things I learned were:

1.  A Place for Everything and Everything in its Place. My grandfather was fond of this saying.  I never understood the philosphy until recently.  When I cleaned each room, I paid special attention to assigning each item a place.

2. Limit the number of things I have.  I really examined my wardrobe for clothes that I don’t just LOVE. I am a natural fibers girl, so I have started to eliminate clothes that are made from poyester or rayon.  The deal is that as I buy new clothes I will have to get rid of an old skirt.

3.  Keep it Clean and Make it a Routine.  Each night, I have been making sure that we wander through the house, picking up and putting away errant things. It only takes five minutes, but makes all the difference.

4.  Communication. This doesn’t seem to be related to the issue, but it is.  I told my husband how I felt about his hunting clothes being everywhere.  He came up with his own solution to the problem: a big basket for his large items and a small one for his gloves, hats, etc.

So far, I have managed to keep the rooms clean  by instituting these tips.  It has only been a week, so I will have to keep vigillant in my housekeeping.  I’ll keep you posted on my progress. Hopefully, I’ll have good news to report.

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By Penny, January 6, 2010 6:18 am

Okay, well, maybe “up and running” is a little optimistic, but perhaps “up and walking vigorously”?  Hopefully, I will get the bulk of the issues squared away and begin writing by Friday. It’s good to be back, though.