Piglets

I said we were never having pigs again, but that was before I tasted the meat. The down side to pigs in my opinion is they stink & are obnoxious. They make this loud noise when they see food coming.We are always challenged trying to move them around, and they destroy wherever they are.

But...they are cute when they are little & very tasty in my freezer,crock pot,or grill. So, Mark see's this sign on his way home from work that says baby pigs for sale. We drive up to this house & a 12 year old boy comes out. "They are my pappy's pigs, but I will show them to you". We climb in his gator & drive down this large hill & down a trail into the woods. I am almost laughing thinking to myself, only in Vermont. We go back the next day with a dog crate to buy the pigs. The same boy comes out and says"Howdy Guys!" with a big smile on his face. He and his brother catch the pigs & help us load them. They wipe their filthy hands off in the grass & I ask "whose hands are cleaner?" as I hand them the money.

And now we have pigs......

Kitty Sittin"

My friend rescued this sweet little kitten. She took him to the vet & he (they think) weighs 1 1/2 lbs. They fittingly named him Peanut. Last Wed. they were leaving on vacation & I was going to take care of Peanut. Then he became ill with diarrhea. They called the vet,  had to go to a pharmacy to pick up meds, and postponed their vacation by a day to make sure Peanut was going to be okay. He arrived a 5:30 Thurs. am. In his dog crate complete with litter box, bed, toys, and food. Then a large basket with baby blankets, extra food, meds, and cotton balls.

Peanut needed to be feed 3 times a day, meds 2 times a day, and constant cleaning (eyes,nose,and butt). He was stinkin (literally) cute. Since he was smelly we would wrap him up & carry him around. He loves attention. Even when I was cleaning him he would fight me for half a second they just let me clean him, and when I was done he would purr. For such a tiny thing he has quite a roar. By Sat. he was much better & smelled better too!

K3, my nephew , and peanut snuggling

Miley kept a close eye on Peanut

K1 texting & cuddling.



. K1 kept calling him Simba from the lion king. She walked around holding him up while playing the theme song. Should have videoed that! They also dressed him in a Bryer horse blanket & he looked so cute.

We had lots of fun with him & were a little sad to see him go on Sun. night .

Not so Great Maine Vacation :(

As most of you know, Mark & I don't get away very often. We hope for a long weekend once a year. I love the ocean and Mark loves to eat lobster. It's been years since we've gone to the ocean. So I planned a camping trip to Maine  and told the K's they could each bring a friend. This required us to rent 2 campsite & drive both the car & the truck.Mark thought it was an insane idea, and that 6 teenage girls was surly a recipe for drama & disaster.

Well, K3's friend decided the week before she wasn't going. K3 was disappointed but loves to camp so it was OK. The four hour drive went really well & K1 drove my car the whole way. She did a really good job, even in four lanes of traffic.

Thursday- We arrived around 2.We had a tent setting up competition & the teenagers won. It was a cloudy overcast day so we took the trolley to the ocean. The tide was in so we just watched the waves for a little while then went back to camp.We made burgers & dogs, and then we went & played mini golf.

Friday- The plan (I am a big planner, and had the whole weekend mapped out) was to go to the Kittery outlets,and take the girls out to lunch. Then drive home on 1A along the ocean stopping at York beach & spending the afternoon if it warmed up enough.When we got back we were going to get pizza for the girls , while Mark & I went to have an ocean side dinner.

K3 woke up saying she didn't feel well. I thought she had a small upset tummy- no big deal.We got to Kittery & K3 got sick, so Mark & I turned around & went back to camp, while the girls shopped the outlets. When they came back we picked up pizza.By late afternoon K3 was feeling a little better, so we went to Wells beach & walked along the ocean for about 1/2 hour until she wanted to go back.

By dinner time she felt awful :(  Mark & the teenagers decided to go out to dinner. They came back 1/2 later saying everything was over an hour wait. Now it had started to rain. The teenagers went to McDonalds.When they came back it was pouring. Both tents were leaking & our tent (which is 20 years old) had water over the entire bottom. Our clothes were wet, but at least we had air mattresses so the beds weren't too bad. except K1 who woke up soaked because apparently she had a drip over her bed.Mark went to bed dreading the morning. He figured he would have 6 wet & unhappy campers. Well, he was wrong, no one complained, the girls all got along great,and no drama.

Saturday - The plan was to go to Old Orchard beach. Poor K3 was seriously sick, weak , and wanted to go home. I was worried she was going to end up having to go to the hospital, so we packed up & left a day early. Everyone was so disappointed. It was a beautiful day. No one got to swim in the ocean,and we never went out to eat, so no lobster for Mark.

We had to stop a few time because K3 thought she was going to be sick, We got home around 5. I called the Dr. and she said K3 was border line of needing to take her to the ER. We decided if she was dizzy or got sick one more time I would bring her in for fluids. Thankfully, she made it through the night. She was a little better yesterday & still not herself today.

My long awaited vacation did not go as planned., but I am so proud of all the girls and hope to take them again sometime. They were all sweet,thankful, and lots of fun to be around.

P.S. Big Thanks to the Crawford Family for taking care of all our animals!

Tuesdays Thoughts

• We are an official teenager household. The littlest K (who is also the tallest K) turned 13 last weekend!
• Gardens are doing well, we've had lots of beets, green beans, carrots, potatoes, cukes, zucchini, broccoli, herbs & garlic, and we are starting to get tomatoes.We eat from the garden every night!
• Sadly, our corn was over run buy weeds :(
• Sunflowers are amazing & I love having fresh flowers on the table. Makes me Happy!
• Funny story about picking green beans: Carter (our lab) like to come in the garden with me, rummages around in the plant & picks his own green beans which he happily eats.It's so funny!Who knew dogs liked fresh raw veggies.
• Speaking of silly animals we have a ram lamb that runs over every time I water them to drink out of the hose - guess he likes his water fresh & cold!
• I bought some goat milk soap (from local farmer) that I love- think I am hooked! I've tried Vt organic soap but just didn't like the feel. Need to add this to my sustainability list. (Still waiting for more ideas)
• Hate to say it but August means back to school. So begins school shopping. We have started getting the field hockey gear. K2 needed a new stick  (hers cracked), we are getting mouth guards today. Practice starts next week!
• Have a great week!

Another Giveaway! This is a Sweet Surprise!

Here is the  challenge of the month. The winner will receive a "sweet surprise".  I will draw September 1st. I have re-posted my sustainability blog. I want ideas on how I can be more sustainable. I will enter you for every idea you give me. I will enter you if you tell me ways you are sustainable. I will enter you if you share my blog or find a new follower, and of course I will enter you if you are just becoming a follower. There are just so many ways to enter! 

Sustainability to me

In 2009, during my sustainability class @ CCV, I decided to try  to come up with 100 ways to be more sustainable. What exactly does that mean....sustainability?  I came up with my own definition: Ways I can improve the environment & leave the least impact, try to reduce our trash, and our use of fossil fuels. Buy local food, grow or raise food for my family, organic as much as I can, and hopefully increase the health & happiness of my family.

Easier said than done..Try looking at all aspect of food. Is it organic? Is it locally grown or raised? How about how much packaging or waste is there? Oh, and is it affordable? As you can see grocery shopping is not an easy task for me anymore.

While I feel we have done so much and come a long way ....I am far from my goal of 100.

Here's my list:

1. Use cloth grocery bags. (I always have some in my car but...) The other day Mark & I had the truck and we ran in to get a few things, he checked out the groceries. Out of the store he comes with no bags and all the items were just in the cart. I had to laugh! I love him for being such a awesome partner in my cause!

2. We gave up paper napkins (we have a colorful basket of cloth ones on the table).

3. We reuse our towels after a shower. This has been really hard for the K's. I even put hooks on their doors so they have a place to hang them. This is a work in progress.

4. We put our TV's, appliances, and cell phone chargers on power strips that we turn off when they are not in use.

5. Compost! Most gets fed to the chickens. Our compost bin is primarily egg shells & coffee grounds.

6. We traded in my van (in 2009) for a more gas efficient car. I love my Fusion, although I wish we could have afforded a hybrid.

7.We started maple sugaring.

8.We have layer hens.

9. We planted blueberry, raspberry, strawberry, and blackberry plants.

10. We made an asparagus bed. Mark & I had a spring full of asparagus pee!!

11.We dry our clothes outside & on a rack....trying to use the dryer as little as possible.

12. No baggies...only glassware for lunches.

13. Reusable water bottles.

14. Energy efficient light bulbs.

15. We heat our water with wood heat even in the summer. We use as many construction scrapes as possible, but no pressure treated boards or plywood.

16. We spray foamed our basement sill & our roof for a much more energy efficient house.

17. I  gave up Pam cooking spray & use a reusable olive oil sprayer.

18. Greatly reduced our takeout pizza, I often make my own.

19. No Microwave popcorn we have a popcorn maker.

20. I buy in bulk as often as I can.

21. Re-use paper for notes.

22. Think of creative & reusable alternatives to wrapping paper such as towels & scarves.

23. Rags instead of paper towels. ( I must confess...I do use paper towels for cat puke, puppy pee, and washing mirrors/windows)

24. We don't use garbage bags inside the house. We have a big one outside that we dump into, so we only use one large bag every 2 weeks.

25. Online banking & bill paying.

26. We gave up cable.

27. I grow my own herbs & dried them.

28. Make our own ice cream.

29. Can & freeze a year worth of vegetables,

30. Make our own salsa & spaghetti sauce.

31. Jelly from our berries.

32. Switched to all natural cleaners & detergents.

33. Make all our own hay for our animals.

34. Planted 3 apple trees ( my goal is to plant at least one tree a year).

35. Raise our own beef.

36. Raise our own roasting chickens.

37. Raise lamb.

38. Raise pork.

39. We have greatly reduced  the amount of lawn that we mow, with portable fencing  we pasture animals on it instead.

40. After we split wood we gather all the scrapes & bark in paper grain bags that we then use for kindling. We waste nothing.

41. Most recently, we started buying raw milk. We skim off the cream for ice cream. We use glass reusable jars, it's local, and all natural...perfect!!

I am asking for any ideas from people to help me reach my goal of 100! 

Winner!

Drum roll please........and the winner of the yummy syrup is Laurie Bertrand!