Jest Another Day in Pear-A-Dice - Higgins Rat Ranch Conservation Farm in Alberta

[drumstick diva]

Tara thanks for the mention - I follow your thread whether you mention me or not but still

when you do. Yes, cannot get enough of Fixins but, feel so badly about Stoggy.


Had no idea Bama was incarcerated again!! What this time??

 

[CanuckBock]

Heel low:

Quote:

the photo...

So I guess the safest thing to do would be to ask a moose when the season is? So how did them moosies even SEE the man...he's in full camo, eh?

Moose should know better than to drink and drive eh?? Bad moose!


Quote:
Had the feisty Fix out and about with me. She likes having her pic taken...so long as it does not take me too long..."Hurry hurry, things to do before COLD TOES!," muses the Fixins.

Don't feel bad about Stogs DD...she had a wonderful life and gave us as much goodness as we tried to give her. Rough start, that's all and she was indeed an interesting addition to our pack. I figure her story is one of those ones that end..."and they lived happily ever after!"

I believe we are not allowed to discuss jail on BYC. One of the rooles us oldtimers seem to have forgotten...so many things to have to recall, eh?

Don't really matter why or what happened, eh...past I had hoped he would stick around and be amused by the threads where we do like him, for being very much him. Not out exploring new territory and places where they don't know nuthin' about him and what he is about. He is an acquired taste and if you bother to pay attention, he never means any real harm. He's jest joshing around and some people, well they just can't seem to take a joke for what it is meant to be...something humours and stress relieving...Bama's as likely to dish it out, and take one too. No matter--he is a precious part of the BYC community and many of us love him for being him.

Let's just figure that Bama is a young whippersnapper version of my Rick. The redneck area where Rick grew up...the boys either got the heck outta Dodge or went to jail and sometimes they had to have both happen before they got on and made something decent out of themselves. The second to last trip to Calgary was pretty fun for me because Rick has talked alot about where he grewed up and then to drive thru it and see all the places his stories took place...marvelous for me. He's a very bratty boy, that one!

Did yah all know that Bart was named on a word scramble off BRAT? We never watched The Simpsons (nfi) when our son Alexander was a mere tot...did not want to give the wee lad any ideas, eh? Boy now as adults all together, Rick, Alexander and I...we gut bust with all the episodes because there are so many of them we missed trying to keep Alexander a behaving.

When I met Rick's mother for the very first time...she grabbed me and gave me this huge HUG. I was kinda taken aback...you know, new mother-in-law and all. She had this crazy but relieved grin plastered on her face. She whispered in my ear, "I thought he would never get married; that he'd be a bachelor all his life!" Course that had me really scared then...what had I gotten myself into, eh?

Rick could cook and clean far better than I could. He would have stayed being a great bachelor or as he quips, a great monk (bakes bread and all sorts of cuisine delights...once marinaded a chicken in red wine...said it turned out looking like a purple blister...bwa ha ha!).

His mother had all her kids clean house and cook meals...very adamant that no matter what gender you were, you were going to be able to take care of yourself. Rick's Ma vacuumed every single day. I told Rick straight up...I was not going to endure white noise every single day, so that ain't happenin'!

The single Rick had hired a lady to do his laundry for him...she would iron a crease in his blue jeans fer him...I said that WILL happen only IF we are going out to dinner, but other than that, you'll hafta settle for jeans "folded" so they were creased properly.

My own mother use to freak out if you picked up an ornament to examine it better..."Make sure you put it back exactly where you got it so the dust ring don't get all messed up!" Eep...as far as cooking, everything was on HIGH...flash flambe OR served up RAW. Dad ate his steak blue rare, probably a better choice than charbroiled if Mom was left to care for it...

Rick came with his very own dowry...yeh go figure! Very expensive kitchen knives (which I promptly snapped the tips off of...ack!), pots and pans (he use to freak...how in the world did I manage to get that much gunk to blacken the bottoms of them!), dish sets (lovely set of white and blue Chinese dishes for when he would make Chinese food), etc. It has been extra nice to have a man that cooks because that meant I don't have to convince him I needed a nice butcher block (he made me one with a thick imported maple cutting block for a top...I cream etched the doors on the spice rack side, he arborited the roll out drawers...tis luxurious!), a decent gas range (hmm, he saw a professional restaurant range and grill combo at the store we got the meat slicer at...says now THAT is the stove we will get if we ever build a house...not sure how else you'd get it inside a regular house door!), proper fridge, etc. I never have any flack about buying groceries (tho he does think I take too long examining the quality of the produce before I'll buy it but hey, good fresh food from the very start means good eats in the end!) or growing my veg garden (in fact that was the very first place he fenced for us...so the deer would not be able to harvest it before we could!). I get lots of support being able to take care of the eating part of the family affairs, eh!

​

So last night...from Rick's old recipes which include several books from the Wok with Yan show...anyone else ever see that show back in the early 80's?? Outta BC...awesome funny guy that use to wear different aprons with some joke or pun hinged on the word WOK...

Some of Stephen Yan's aprons:
My fav being of course...that last one...

I made up some Fried Rice (with ham and chicken diced up) and Chinese spiced pork chops to go along with some boiled shrimp. I also grabbed a package of chicken wings outta one of the freezers and that will be added to tonight's fare.

Recipe for the Chinese Chook Wings...all you do is take a buncha raw chicken wings, let them sit in soy sauce to marinate a few hours...then get some oil hot and douse the wings in a good coating of cornstarch, and then into the hot fat...put each batch of wings on a pan in the oven to allow the excess oil to drip out and prepare to be pleased! They are wonderbar! Bet you can't eat just SIX!

Fried Rice and Chinese Pork Chops
​

Fair amount of snowfall last night.

Two Pear-A-Dices & Eden buildings​

No wind so the snow got to pile up real purdy on the rails...​

Jest another day in Pear-A-Dice...got a coupla signs for that thar...

Snow was chest deep for the Fix!



And she has to diggy dig to get to any of the decent scents accessible from yesterday! ​

​

Snowed enough I had to roof rake off the canopies...tallied up so far is 7 lengths of 20 feet-both sides, so 140 feet of canopy roof I raked. So I earned four cookies...that should even out the calories burned and consumed...eh???

"OK Lard Butt," says the Fix..."You worked and then ate cookies...then came to take me out to show me...
I am pretty much done the inspections on the snow removal...Where we going to next??"​

"Hurry along now...waiting waiting...DOG waiting on you..."​

"OK...maybe next year, remove or cover this sign on the gate, eh...
I inspected it & no chicken in their right minds could navigate that gate in current conditions!"

"SNOWED IN!!!!"



"OK Lumpy Lady! Move it, move it along already...Waz the hold up...You tired from roof raking or the four cookies in your belly??

Too bad already...MOVE IT!"

"OK...Bird Yard lookin' good..."​

"Where to next....???"

​

"Inspect the roofs...OK..."


​

"Lookin' fine!"

"Where to next....???"​

"The HOUSE...the woodstove that is right by my cloud bed...??"​

"Why didn't you say so sooner! EAT my POWDER!" ​

And the Fancy Fixins retires to the house to warm toes!

Doggone & Chicken UP!

Tara Lee Higgins
Higgins Rat Ranch Conservation Farm, Alberta, Canada

 

[CanuckBock]

Heel low:

Short blurp today...got lots on the go...whee hee hee...

Marinated raw wings, dunk in corn starch...put on plate, then to be deep fried.​

Loved it...Rick came home, working alot with the snows coming in...he's tired and I always know that when he starts breathing loud...sigh.

Forgetful too...he asked about dinner, mentioned how he was looking forward to the rice dish...I said, "And the chicken wings!" and his face lit up...then he said, "But that's alot of work!"..."Nah," I quip, "Already got the wing a dings in the soy sauce...!!" and tis true...not alot of work. Best though to have enough wings for two or three meals since you do waste the oil since you need to toss it after cooking the wings...lots of residue from the starch. So got rice, wings enough for coupla more meals.

​

So today, I took out the other half a package of frozen shrimps and will do those up in deep fried coating recipe for shrimp and chicken. Rick will love that and it is about the only thing to brighten his day when he has to work so many long hours...something good for his taste buds and make him smile! Talked to him on the phone and hoping he does not have to work again late tonight.


Warmed up and brought another load of Birch firewood to the Man Porch. This particular pile is pretty close to being gone and happy about that. Rick will take Friday off to take me to doc appointment and if it stays warm, he will fire up the tractor and begin moving snow. This area where the birch was is a great place to stock pile the snows and it is near cleared out. He has one bin to take out by the tractor to the Ram Pasture from when I cleared out the Duece Coop inside pens...then I think we are kinda caught up for a bit...for now unless we get some more snow after the fact...more snow, in Alberta in winter...hmm....

Waz that you smell thar Fixies?​

Fixins was out and about too since it was nice and balmy at -10C/14F.

Sorry thar Fixins...you can lick a post if you like but you won't stick so bad as it is a tad too warm to be too terrible​

Off I go again...

Doggone & Chicken UP!

Tara Lee Higgins
Higgins Rat Ranch Conservation Farm, Alberta, Canada

 

[drumstick diva]

Has Fixins ever really tried to lick a metal post.? I think she is more the type, to dare another dog to do it.

 

[lularat]

The snow is beautiful....still waiting for some. I know you love the snow, but do you get tired of it? Fixins seems right at home in the snow. Can't imagine living where it snows day after day.

 

[hennible]

I'm tired of it...

Before shovelling

After...
Sorry I'm bitter from shovelling... We had over a foot come down pretty fast recently.

 

[Amberjem]

 

[ronott1]

I'm tired of it...

Before shovelling

After...
Sorry I'm bitter from shovelling... We had over a foot come down pretty fast recently.

I do not really have a much of a reference for it. There is some snow at my Moms place in the mountains but I do not get up there much in the winter.

I am sorry you have to do all that work! and be so cold!

 

[hennible]

Nah, shovelling keeps ya warm. Lol
I shouldn't whine. No snow would be worse... The water table needs it. We just had a bad fire season.

 

[Amberjem]

whenever snow and a shovel enter the equation it bites...