"Gypsy gold does not chink and glitter. It gleams in the sun and neighs in the dark."

~ Saying of the Gladdagh Gypsies of Galway


Friday, August 31, 2012

The Blue Moon


Did you know that this evening, we can witness a 'blue moon'?
It will be the first one since 1999!


A blue moon happens when you have more than one full moon in a month.
If you research the 'blue moon', you will find lots of folklore and stories about how the blue moon came to be, what actually defies a blue moon and so on.

These are a few things I have heard this week that peaked my interest!

It is told that is a child is born on a blue moon, they are born with a '6th sense' if you will!! They are more in tune with their surroundings and they grow up to be very social adults. I also heard that is a baby is conceived on a Full Moon (note, not a blue moon, just a full moon), that they will also be born on a full moon. It's true. Go google your birthday and see if it is was a full moon...then do the math. ;)

For those of us 'lucky' enough to have had, or have a spirit(s) residing with us in our homes, the week leading up the blue moon is a week of heightened activity for your fellow house guests! You will find more things are coming up missing or broken. And then, at 11:59pm on the evening of the blue moon, everything will revert back to it's normal 'presence'! Just like that!


Wednesday, August 22, 2012

Share with me, please!


I am pretty sure, pretty positive, I feel WORSE with this pregnancy than I did with my first one. I still have no energy, no appetite, and the thought of having to make dinner EVERY.SINGLE.NIGHT makes me want to die. Which, is definitely not me! I LOVE making dinners :)

I could leave it up to hubby, but I am not down with frozen meals every night - which for the record, is exactly what he did the first time around. But now that we have a little to feed, I am not ok with that! ;)

So, can you help me please? Can you share with me some EASY crockpot recipes or casserole receipes I can quickly throw together when I get home?

I would really, really appreciate it! As would my family! I know they miss a decent dinner!!

Monday, August 20, 2012

A Recipe...and things


I'm trucking along. Most of the time I still feel nauseous, which rocks -- NOT. Yesterday, I pulled it together to make a stir-fry for dinner because for whatever reason, that is what my mind was telling me I wanted to eat! I made it. And it was super easy and super delish, so I am sharing it with you today. Hubby couldn't believe how good it was and I believe his words to me were something like 'See how good it is when you don't spend two hours making it with 500 ingredients'! Ha - he's just a freaking comedian!

In other news, Gypsy had a rough day yesterday :/ She was out all day but seemed pretty stiff still. I watched her from the window most of the day while I canned more tomato sauce. I am not ready to throw in the towel on her yet - I am still holding out some hope. But yesterday was not a good day for her. This morning, she ever so politely already had the barn light turned on for me when I got outside and was anxious to get out of the barn. That was a good sign. She was stiff, but it seemed maybe there was a tad of improvement. And she walked out to the pasture a little faster than yesterday. So I am hopefully she'll look ok when I get home. She is loosing some weight though because she isn't eating her grain. I am hesistant to be too concerned on that yet because she is muching grass all day, but I would like to see more weight on her bones.

I took this photo of her last evening, right before dusk, with my cell through the kitchen window. Everyone else was tucked in their stalls for the night with hay, and she looked so peaceful.


So please keep my Gypsy in your thoughts and prayers.

And then go enjoy this super easy recipe! I altered it from a recipe I found in a BHG cookbook I have. You can obviously edit it to whatever you have on hand - the luxury of a stir-fry!

Simple Stir-Fry

1 cup Water
3 Tbsp Soy Sauce
1 Tbsp Rice Wine Vinegar (if you don't have, I am sure white vinegar is fine too)
2 Chicken Breast, chopped
1 Green Pepper, diced or sliced
8oz mushrooms, sliced
1 can Baby Corn
2 cloves of garlic
Peanut or Coconut Oil for stir-frying
Rice to serve it over

Mix your three liquids together and marinate the chicken in it for 30 minutes. Heat your oil in a wok or skillet, throw in all your veggies and fry up for 3 minutes or so. Then remove. Add more oil if neccessary. Then add in your chicken (saving marinade) and stir-fry just until no longer pink. Move chicken to outer edge of pan and dump in marinade liquid. Bring to a boil and stir it around with chicken for a minute or two. Then add your veggies back in and cook for another 2 minutes or so. Serve over rice.



Friday, August 17, 2012

Link Loitering, August 17


Loving this article! Eat like it is 1950

I am a total FREAK when it comes to Halloween! LOVE IT LOVE IT LOVE IT - My most favoritest holiday of the year. I have been pinning like crazy over on Pinterest and found this! Do you think it was cause physcological damage to raise children in a home where this is part of the Halloween decor?

How about this graphic - who has seen this? These companies oppose GMO labeling. What a shame.


For more info on Prop. 37 - go here.



“If you're afraid of butter, use cream.” Julia Child ... Love it! Happy 100th B-day this past week to Julia Child :)

Wednesday, August 15, 2012

Hard Times with Horses


And no - the title of this blog post doesn't refer to the fact that hay is at an EXTREMELY OUTRAGEOUS cost right now in addition to there being basically none anywhere in sight either. But, I digress.


Everyone whose read this blog for any period of time knows my Gypsy Girl.

She is a 27 year Appaloosa Mare that I rescued in 2005. I also learned a lot of firsts riding her. And for that matter, taught a handful of others a lot of their 'firsts' riding her as well!

Now a days, Gypsy is just living the golden life. Retired, soaking up treats and love and loving when my nieces and nephews come to visit.

Well - she gone and did it again! This mare - I tell ya!

So prepare yourself. I will try to not get too long winded with this story, but that hope is doubtful. And I am going to be brutally honest, too.

About a week ago, we woke up the find Gypsy hanging out in the yard. Seems she kicked her stall door continually until she busted the lock open. She's done this before so I wasn't shocked. She doesn't stray far from the herd either, so I wasn't too worried. She camped out by Romeo, the pony, all night. However, I noticed her shoulder was a little knicked up...adn then, she tried to walk. And it wasn't happening. *ugh* [enter pit in stomach]

Have you ever heard the saying, 'No Hoof, No Horse?' Well, the same is pretty much true with a horses leg too! One cannot surive on three legs with the amount of weight they have to support. Since this was a week day and I had to get to work, I checked her over, rubbed her down with some linament, left her in the barn, contained, so she could roam the aisle, and hoped she would work out the quirk by the time I got home. No such luck. She was extremely stiff on her front right leg and could barely walk.

So over the next few days, I treated her with linaments and some medicine for pain as I monitored her and tried to determine what the problem was. I had two guesses - my current farrier is a fool and trimmed her hooves wrong or she did something to her knicked up shoulder when she escaped the other night.

Monday evening I had second farrier (who comes highly recommend and is way booked up but luckily he lives close and fit us in since it was kinda of an emergency) come out and check her over. He agreed. it wasn't her hoof - it was something with her shoulder.

Now - there are a few problems with this.
1. This area can be hard to detect a bruise, fracture or break with an x-ray.
2. She'd need to be trailered to a specility hospital if we even wanted to give it a try. After all those expenses, the chances of an exact disagnoses were still slim.

Gypsy doesn't trailer well. And futhermore, she is 27 years old. I am pretty sure she didn't break it because she wouldn't be walking AT All. I decided I would continue to monitor her and see what happens. Some may call this neglectful, but you know what? I am going to toot my own horn for once. I don't proclaim to be an expert with horses by any mean whatsoever! But, I have had plenty of experiences in my years of rescue to feel comfortable enough in my knowledge, and the knowledge of the horse people around me, to know I can make a decision on what is best for Gypsy. I can recognize when she is suffering and make a decsion should it need to be made, albeit a hard decision not to be taken lightly.

So, for the next two days she seemed a tad better but not 100%. I was giving her free range to roam where she pleased that way she was getting movement instead of being stuck in a stall until we got home. She doesn't go far from her heard and she wasn't walking too well anyways so I wasn't worried about her wandering off. Then, yesterday I get a text from my neighbor as I am on my way home that she wandered into their yard. I guess she was feeling better!

When I got home and went to put her and Apollo out back in the pasture, she actaully surpassed Apollo and I and got back their first. Clearly she was feeling better, though I could still see she asn't walking 100%. When my hubby and I arrived back again with Daisy & Romeo, we noticed her and Apollo were rolling - nothing unusual. And I knew that was a good sign that she even went down to roll. But then, she couldn't get back up. And my second stroke, heart attack, and 24 more gray hairs happened.



Gypsy & Hubby
 Over the next 90 minutes or so, my hubby and I worked to help her get back on her feet. All while in the company of our 17 month old who did no less than climb to the top of the pasture gate inducing my third heart attack, and then playfully occupy himself by standing IN the water trough having a gay old time splashing around and beating the snot out of the water with a stick. Occassionaly he'd examine a few manure piles too :) At one point, while hubby and I were both attempting to help Gypsy get up, he started yelling and whimpering - I assume he was confused as to what was going on and knew something wasn't right. I don't know if you have ever had experience trying to help a 1,000 pound animal to their feet, but it isn't quite as gentle as helping a dog. A young kiddo watching could be easily confused!

At one point, I honestly thought she passed on her own and my heart broke. I thought to myself, she is such a good horse she even made that decision an easy one for me by letting herself go on her own. But, not yet. She is the mare of 9 lives, I guess. Because the next thing I know, she was giving it another go trying to get herself up. At one point, hubby was sitting down, indian style, next to her with her head literally in his lap. He was petting her and talking to her. My little one came over to them, sat on the other side of hubbys lap and petted Gypsy too, while he spoke his gibberish to her. My heart broke. BROKE people! I am hormonal as it is and this was all too much! This is something you see in a movie. Not in your own backyard. But then again, that is just how special this horse is. I met her when she was 19 - she taught me lots - and now my son was sitting beside her petting her while she didn't feel well.

And I have long spoke of her love for kids. My nephew once walk right underneath her quicker than I could realize what he was doing. Very, very dangerous. But, in my heart of hearts, I know she knew he shouldn't have done that and she'd stand still until he was safe again. She is just THAT kind of horse. You only get one in a lifetime. And as I stood there, crying, watching my husband and son comfort her, I swear as soon as my little guy caught her attention, she perked up. It gave her another bout of motivation to give it another try. I said to hubby quickly "now! grab her tail!" and just like that we did all we could to assist her in getting up. Gosh darn it if 5 minutes or so later, a horse I thought was gone was standing quietly, looking straight at us with a thank you on her face - this I know.

She was stiff, but she was back on her feet and she wasn't showing signs up distress. These were all good things. So I let them all be in the pasture until 9ish when it was time to come in for the night. She was walking better, but not great. This morning she promptly came right out of the barn into the yard in the morning when Allen opened it up. And she scurried away from me when I came to her with her syringe of applesauce and medicine. These are good signs! Only time will tell, but for now, we take it one day at a time.

A strange stillness dwells in the eye of the horse, a composure that appears to regard the world from a measured distance…It is a gaze from the depths of a dream… -Hans-Heinrich Isenbart

 

Saturday, August 11, 2012

Harvest Time


Despite the severe lack of rain we've had this summer, our harvests have been wonderful.
And, unfortunately for me, since most everything and anything at the moment makes me sick, harvesting isn't something I am helping hubby out with much, but, none the less!

We had a great garlic harvest!


Our tomato's this year are off the hook! Which is great because last year we basically had none. But again, I am sad I am not enjoying as many as I had planned. 

We did get 3 qts canned today and 2 pts of sauce. There were 4 qts....until the bottom blew out on one. Don't you HATE it when that happens. Canning tomato's isn't two tedious when 2 are involved. Hubby and I have our assembly line down to a science. He cores and scores, I blanch and peel. 



The Zucchini , Squash and Broccoli have been off the hook! I am pretty sure there is a such thing as too much Zucchini!



Friday, August 10, 2012

Well...HELLO!


Well Hi There!

It's me - Allison!
I certainly hadn't planned this tad-over-a-month blogging break! Whoops. But, I will get to that more in a second! So, how are you? What's new? I have lots of blog catching up to do!

Here's what's happened in my neck of the woods lately!

1. Lots and Lots of Harvesting!


2. A great Annual Fourth on the Farm Party :)

3. A little boy I know is growing like a weed!

4. Pickling courtsey of Hubby!!

5. We FINALLY have an egg -- well, let me say, we finally have ONE chicken out of SIX whose decided to start laying!!

6. More Harvesting

7. An absolute AWESOME onion harvest for us this year! Hubby has since braided them all up after they dried out and has moved them down into his new, makeshift root cellar under the basement stairs!

8. And....we got some news we'll be adding to the family come February. So, the main reason for my extended abscence is that I have been feeling like a walking hangover 24/7 for the last month or so! Hopefully that will go away soon!