Illinois...

[Faraday40]

Well, i was going to take some pictures of my fluff butts, but as usual, life has different things in store. After I did my boys 2 day pontiac tournament, I spent all day Sunday doing the resulting laundry. Monday, I felt drained at work, which I thought was from the busy weekend. I was wrong. I started coughing a little that night and by the end of work yesterday, i was about to scream I hurt so bad. Came home to a fever. Only two possibilities. Either flu or pneumonia even though I suspected the latter. Unfortunately my suspicions were correct. Yay. Just in time for Christmas. Doc wants me to "rest, rest, rest!" I barely have any Christmas presents! If i still have a fever on Monday, I have to go back.

So fluffy butt pics will have to wait until i feel better. Its really hard to go outside in this cold with a fever!

Oh my poor friend! That is a horrible Christmas present!

Practical tips: Husband, driving teens, & grandparents can shop & wrap for you. (Just have very detailed lists. LOL) You could also give the gift of fun classes/activities. Just write it down on a piece of paper & put it in a gift box or envelop to be opened. (dance lessons, day or weekend trip as a family to go _____, museum membership, etc.) We love these type of gifts because not only are they fun, but they don't clutter the house when kids are done with them.

More practical tip: "Rest, Rest, Rest" like your doc said. In times like these, all the little things do not matter. DH & I have a saying to help get us through the rough times of sickness and focus on one simple goal = "Everybody fed; nobody dead." When that's your family's only goal, you can usually achieve it. Everything else can wait.

 

[cavemanrich]

@homeschoolin momma ,,,, hope you recover quickly,,, and how is dad doing?

 

[homeschoolin momma]

"Everybody fed; nobody dead."

Oh my goodness! That's a great quote!

hope you recover quickly,,, and how is dad doing?

Dad is doing better. He went in for a recheck and I tagged along! Now he's trying to help me out around the house as much as possible.

 

[Faraday40]

"Everybody fed; nobody dead."

It's so true, though. When you're nearing the end of a long, miserable day and your spouse asks how you're doing...... If you can say only that quote, you survived and met your minimum goal.



And I'm glad your dad is feeling better. Make sure he rests too.

 

[BReeder!]

I've got a big mixed flock of Polish, Rhode Island Reds, Buff Orpington, Plymouth Rock, Ameraucana, Wyandottes, Sussex, Araucana, Legbar and some more but its a long list. I've also got two turkeys, three ducks, and six guinea fowl and I'm hoping to add some quail soon just trying to figure out the logistics and create their little area.

I have quail and I know @Faraday40 had them before. Ask if you have any questions. There's a great quail hatch along thread too in tge quail section that is full of all sorts of quail talk (not just hatching).

 

[BReeder!]

Making sausage sounds like an interesting and fun project. Was is hard? How did you learn?

Not hard as long as you have a grinder and sausage stuffer. I use the grinder attachment for my kitchenaid stand mixer. We just grind a bunch of pork I tend to use raw uncured hams because they are the cheapest cuts and shoulders because they are fatty while still fairly cheap. Then I season it - nothing special, just salt, pepper, garlic powder, herbs (Italian seasoning is an easy go to), paprika, fennel seed, red pepper flakes, and anything else I want. I've been creative before with maple syrup, buffalo sauce and even taco seasoning. I always cook up a patty for a taste test before moving on to stuffing casings. Stuffing the casing is the trickiest part, but you get the hang of it and then it's pretty easy. Tony's is the only store I managed to find casings should you ever decide to give it go.

 

[cavemanrich]

My integration of new chicken went really well. One day in loft with a screen barrier, and next day I removed the screen. Transition was smooth and minimal chasing. No violence. Named her Sushi

 

[BReeder!]

Hello, everybody. I came down with a nasty gastrointestinal illness Thursday evening. I had to suffer through yesterday to cook and host my sister-in-law and her husband for a holiday get-together. In the meantime, DW was suffering too as she had to manage the household alone. It was just a short few days, but it can take a toll quickly. She thought that a bag of corn was a bag of feed. I just found out we'r ran out of feed today. I guess I will be picking up feed tomorrow morning. The quail have a bit left in their feeders and the chickens, turkeys and ducks will survive on corn alone for just one night. We are also behind on Christmas. We haven't wrapped anything and we did take the kids for pictures with Santa - well we tried to do pics today but thuggery weren't taking any more people at 4:20pm even though photos were scheduled to go until 5:00pm. We will be back at Bass Pro Shop first thing tomorrow morning for pics with Santa and then Farm and Fleet on the way home.

 

[Molpet]

Hello, everybody. I came down with a nasty gastrointestinal illness Thursday evening. I had to suffer through yesterday to cook and host my sister-in-law and her husband for a holiday get-together. In the meantime, DW was suffering too as she had to manage the household alone. It was just a short few days, but it can take a toll quickly. She thought that a bag of corn was a bag of feed. I just found out we'r ran out of feed today. I guess I will be picking up feed tomorrow morning. The quail have a bit left in their feeders and the chickens, turkeys and ducks will survive on corn alone for just one night. We are also behind on Christmas. We haven't wrapped anything and we did take the kids for pictures with Santa - well we tried to do pics today but thuggery weren't taking any more people at 4:20pm even though photos were scheduled to go until 5:00pm. We will be back at Bass Pro Shop first thing tomorrow morning for pics with Santa and then Farm and Fleet on the way home.

Oh wow that's a bummer
Prayers for a speedy recovery if you aren't. .. and that no one else gets it
Enjoy the pics

 

[Faraday40]

Hello, everybody. I came down with a nasty gastrointestinal illness Thursday evening. I had to suffer through yesterday to cook and host my sister-in-law and her husband for a holiday get-together. In the meantime, DW was suffering too as she had to manage the household alone. It was just a short few days, but it can take a toll quickly. She thought that a bag of corn was a bag of feed. I just found out we'r ran out of feed today. I guess I will be picking up feed tomorrow morning. The quail have a bit left in their feeders and the chickens, turkeys and ducks will survive on corn alone for just one night. We are also behind on Christmas. We haven't wrapped anything and we did take the kids for pictures with Santa - well we tried to do pics today but thuggery weren't taking any more people at 4:20pm even though photos were scheduled to go until 5:00pm. We will be back at Bass Pro Shop first thing tomorrow morning for pics with Santa and then Farm and Fleet on the way home.

Hope you're feeling better soon. On the bright side.... your kids are young & won't care if their gifts "look pretty" or not. In fact, when they're young, it's sometimes the empty boxes that are more fun than the toys.

We did the mall Santa pics when our 1st child was young. By the time our 2nd came, we discovered that the local free Santa pics (like at our bank or the park district) turned out better. Less stress, no cost, & take as many pics as you can. In fact, last night we went to a free park district party (sled dogs, candy cane hunt, long earred mule rides, fire with S'mores, & cookies/ hot cocoa). DD is older now, but I made her promise to let me get my annual Santa photo.

Of course, this year she started a new tradition = Bringing a boyfriend.
Here they were on the mule sleigh ride

My fav pic, however was when I told the kids to put the rooster to bed:

I figure if the kids are going to be hanging around, they can make themselves helpful.

Another fav pic was DS's gingerbread house. He worked so hard on making it at school but was told he couldn't eat it until he got home. He just couldn't wait any longer to taste it & was nibbling as I ran to fetch my camera.