I have been anxious to share this post with you for quite a few weeks now. And the funny thing is, I can’t wait to show off more once winter is actually here!
What am I talking about?
Well, thanks to my friends at The Real Farmwives of America, I was hooked up with some awesome Carhartt bibs. When I picked out my bibs, I felt like the luckiest woman alive. I’d been contemplating ordering a pair, because last winter I used a pair of my husband’s…and let me tell you what, they are NOT made the same!
My hubby’s coveralls were baggy on the bottom, tight across the top and difficult for me to move in. My new ones fit me like a glove, and the best part yet? They’re PURPLE! No more worrying about grabbing the wrong pair, one of the boys taking off with them, or Boss Man slipping them on because they’re handy! 🙂 Yay!
This winter, I’ll be putting these bibs through their paces, checking cows during snow storms, like I did in this video:
But for now, I used them for a variety of tasks. Like:
1) Driving truck during silage cutting.
EJ was my silage truck partner. He had to wear his bibs too!
My 4-year-old photographer...didn't do too bad!
Dumping the chopped up corn (silage). It'll be packed down in a pile, covered, and used later this winter for feed for our cattle.
Sometimes the waiting during silage season can be a bit boring. Thankfully my phone kept me up-to-date on the progress being made and where I was needed.
2) My hubby’s idea of an early-morning, marital-relationship-building-exercise…AKA covering the silage pile.
My husband's comment when I asked him to take a picture of us working? "If I take the picture of you, won't they wonder why I'm not working too?"
The best part of this yearly routine was the beautiful sunrise I was able to take in:
Another beautiful fall morning.
3) And don’t forget, the ever-wonderful job of spraying out the horsetrailer after hauling the cows and calves home from weaning!
It's a dirty job, but someone's gotta do it!
These coveralls, bibs, whatever you want to call them, they will quickly become a staple in my wardrobe. They are warm, comfortable and easy to care for…all things that are a MUST in my house!
To win a pair of Carhartt Bib Overalls of your own please visit The Real Farmwives to sign up for their giveaway. Seriously, do it. They are amazing. I will never buy another pair of men’s bibs again!!! 🙂
Carhartt did provide me with this product to review but the thoughts and opinions expressed here are my own.
(Baxter, the Bat)I’m trying to come up with a great Halloween idea for my kids this year. Last year, we didn’t do anything special, because George was once again not feeling well…but this year, we hope to really do a bang-up job!
The year before that we had a Star Wars theme…and I have to say, the boys were cute as buttons (in a totally Star-Warsish-tough-guy way).
Here were my three big boys:
Scooter, EJ and Big Bro, all decked out.
And then came our little George…I made his costume:
My lovely little Yoda!
Yep, those are Shrek ears, folded down. Simple. The shirt is just a brown onesie (does yours have words on it? turn it inside out, or better yet, backwards!). Then brown pants. The “jacket” is a simple tan sheet, cut in the shape of a hoodie, then sew the sleeves together and put the hood together. Had I been blogging at that time, I totally would have shown a step-by-step way to make your own. Dang it!
Oh well, if you have specific questions on how to make one, I can make another and show it to you…it was a rough finish, but from a distance no one could tell. And I don’t think it turned out too bad!
Our farm is undergoing a facelift. And it’s all due to the hard work of our electric cooperative, Dakota Valley Electric.
After this summer’s storm and issues that we had last spring with deer and such, Boss Man and I decided to make some changes around the farm. One of the biggest cosmetic changes is the switching over from overhead power lines to underground.
Now you see it...
I didn’t think it would be that big of a change, really. I mean, as far as cosmetics go. (I completely understand the amount of work and time it takes to actually achieve the goal!) But I was wrong.
It’s amazing!
Now you don't!
So, aside from no longer worrying about the wind snapping off a line in our yard (it happened), or ice building up, or having to farm and mow around polls, it’s all gone.
It’ll take me a little while to get used to the look. I step outside and feel like something’s missing. But it’s a great change, and one that I’m glad we went through with.
So, thank you Dakota Valley Electric and those involved in the switch over. It was fast, problem-free (at least from my point of view) and a great new step for our farm. Thank you!
Half-way done with my recipes, before I give away a Gooseberry Patch cookbook! This was a big hit in my house, and very easy and cheap to make…the only thing that I had problems with were my noodles, but that was because I didn’t read the directions close enough! Ugh…I need a proofreader for my recipe-following! But it was still absolutely delicious! Just be sure to use elbow macaroni (as instructed) and do NOT substitute egg noodles. They melt into the dish. Still delicious, but we ended up serving it on toast…which was amazing!
Here it is:
Creamy Macaroni & Beef
All together now!
Ingredients:
1 lb. ground beef, browned and drained
2 10-3/4 oz. cans cream of mushroom soup (I used cream of chicken)
8-oz. pkg. shredded Cheddar or mozzarella cheese
7-oz. pkg. elbow macaroni, uncooked
2 c. milk
1/2 to 1 t. onion powder
1/2 to 1 t. salt
1/4 to 1/2 t. pepper
All mixed together, ready to cook.
Combine all ingredients in a slow cooker; mix well. Cover and cook on low setting for 6 hours, or until macaroni is tender. Serves 8. (I cooked on high for 3 hours or so…just need to make sure macaroni is cooked, or in my case, dissolved. Oh, and when I realized that the noodles were going to be nonexistent, I added in a can of drained whole kernel corn, just to give it more substance…yummy!)
Costs:
Beef – $2.98
Soup – $1.75
Cheese – $1.50
Macaroni – $1.25
Total – $7.48, which serves 8, making it about 94 cents a serving. Not too shabby!
It was quickly devoured by my tribe...definitely a seal of approval!
Yesterday, my fellow blogger and friend-across-the-miles started her second battle with cancer. I’ll be praying for her for the next few weeks/months as she boldly fights this beast called cancer. If you’d like to swing over and give her a shout, just letting her know that others are in her corner, you can leave a comment on my “Fight Like a Girl” post that you did, and be entered to win a pink KitchenAid Artisan Stand Mixer. I’ll be giving it away at the end of the month, so hurry and enter!
I’m sharing another reader’s cancer story today…I’m so glad I did this. I’ve learned so much about the strength of so many women. You guys are all amazing. It makes me feel silly for worrying about some of the things I worry about. Thank you for a lesson in humility, a lesson in strength and a lesson of how to keep going.
I wanted to share with you my story of my step dad that has passed away to cancer. Five years ago in May my mom married Bill. They were happy together in fact the happiest I have ever seen my mom in years. In August Bill had a swollen gland in his neck so he went to the hospital. For a couple of months the doctors told him it was allergies and put him on Zertec and antibiotics. Sept 8, 2006, Bill got up during the middle of the night to go to the bathroom and he collapsed on the floor. Blacked out and was unresponsive. My mom had called 911 and the ambulance was on their way when she had called me. They did get him to start breathing again on the way to the hospital. Several hours later the transfered him to another hospital and mom and I were on our way there too.
Once there, they did a scope to look at his throat and found a cyst wrapped around his main artery and that is what caused him to black out and quit breathing. After further tests we found out it was cancer, Yes cancer not allergies.
That’s when the battle began. We stayed at a house that is just a block away from the hospital and the Cancer treatment center. While Bill was in the hospital trying to get better we spent endless hours by his side (the treatments he was receiving and the lack of blood to the brain would make him hallucinate). Four weeks after he was diagnosed with cancer, he woke up one morning and asked me if I thought he was going to die and I told him no. That night mom and I went home to get clothes and so I could spend sometime with my family and we got a phone call that we needed to come back. Bill had taken a turn for the worst.
We drove back that night and he did make it three more nights before he passed away. Cancer is a horrible disease to watch someone die because of it makes it even harder. To see a strong man weak and needing help getting up, going to the bathroom, and not being able to eat because the radiation burnt his throat was very hard and then to find out that the treatments didn’t help was frustrating. With cancer I think a person has every feeling possible at some point and time of treatment.
I pray for all people going through cancer, their family, and their cartakers every day. It takes alot of courage and strength to get through such a horrible disease.
Thank you, everyone for sharing your lives with me. Let’s keep raising awareness, and supporting others that are fighting the good fight. We need more marks in the win column.
Normally on Monday, I would post a “Hunk of Meat Monday” recipe, to share with those that enjoy having protein in their diet and I would link up with Beyer Beware’s linky party…but not today.
Our household is a very unique situation. We farm. We ranch. And our son is a vegan. Actually, that doesn’t quite cover it, but it’s close. He is limited in the amount of protein that he can have. Right now his limit is 11-12 grams of protein. To put that into perspective, an 8 oz. glass of milk has about 8 grams of protein in it. So, in theory he could have a glass of milk, but then he could only have one slice of bread for the rest of the day.
What it means is that he doesn’t eat meat. And according to his dietician, he will probably never eat meat. And I’m perfectly fine with that.
George’s body can’t break down protein. When he consumes protein, it can cause a reaction in his body that can elevate his ammonia levels, cause his brain to swell, cause seizures, make him hyperactive, etc. In a nutshell, it can be life threatening.
Last week Monday, I had a package of beef jerky in the fridge. Now, normally I don’t keep those kind of snacks in the house. Many times I just leave them in the shop fridge, because my husband likes to snack on them during harvest. But for some reason, I brought some in the house.
Now, mind you, George has never really had meat before. Due to his medical issues and not knowing what was all going wrong, but knowing that he didn’t tolerate table food very well, George was on a special formula for much longer than you normally would have a child on a liquid-only diet. In fact, George had just started eating some table food just about a year ago. He was 18 months old. It was January when we learned that we would probably need to cut protein out of his diet, and finally had a plan.
Well, apparently George is curious. And he ate two sticks of beef jerky. I was working on folding clothes, and noticed that he was chewing on something. He showed me the tiny bite that was left in his mouth, promptly spit it out for me, and then I checked the fridge, realizing that not one, but two sticks were out of the package.
We’d never had this problem, so I wasn’t sure what to do. I called his neurologist, who was on vacation. Her back-up was paged…she was on vacation. So a third person was contacted, who told me that she was going to be no help. So another neurologist was paged. And while waiting for her to call back, I called our pediatrician, who was out of the office. His nurse was very supportive, and told me that when I heard back, to let them know what they needed to do.
Under normal circumstances, were George to have issues relating to his OTC, I know what to do. I take him to the ER and hand them my letters from the doctors that give step-by-step instructions on how to care for him. But that’s what I do AFTER he’s having an “episode.” I had never had to deal with a situation in which he MIGHT have an episode.
Well, I finally heard back, and the doctor gave me some wonderful words of wisdom…like, “Don’t give him any more protein today.” Thank you, Captain Obvious. I figured that one out on my own. And, “Watch for signs of distress.” Whew. So glad I called. That really put me at ease. (By the way, that’s dripping heavily with sarcasm.)
Needless to say, I quickly learned one of George’s reactions to too much protein. He becomes off-the-wall, crazy hyper. Similar to what I would imagine a 2-year-old would act like if they were given 3-4 Mountain Dews. Seriously. He had snuck the beef jerky at about 2 that afternoon. He finally went to sleep around 1…Tuesday morning. It was crazy. But he survived, and so did I.
The point of all this?
I get the need for some people to be vegetarians, vegans, not eat meat, however you want to word it. I completely understand. I know, because I’m living it.
Here’s what I don’t like:
Don’t tell me that not eating meat is healthier for you. I know what the body needs. I know what children need. I’ve been researching it for months. I work with dieticians at Mayo Clinic. Trust me. I know. I also know what it takes to replace the nutrients and protein that you automatically get from meat. I know how dangerous it can be to try to live without those proteins. I know what the formula that my son will be using for the rest of his life smells like, tastes like…I’d rather eat a steak. (There are more than 25 different cuts of meat that are lean and healthier options, if that’s the kind of thing you’re looking for.)
Don’t tell me that livestock aren’t cared for properly. I know how they’re cared for, because I live it. We take care of our cattle, day-in, day-out, 24 hours a day, 365 days a year. Through blizzards, through hot streaks, in the spring, in the fall, you name it. If we need to be gone, we arrange for someone else to take care of them. It’s our responsibility and something we take very, very seriously.
This is our herd today.
Talk to me about your concerns. If you have heard something about animal care that concerns you, ask. Don’t just assume that whatever you see, hear is the truth. If you need to, come to my farm and look. (In fact, I’m connecting a video that our state Farm Bureau put together, showing you our farm, and telling others about why we do what we do…check it out. And remember, this was three years and one child ago!)
Don’t watch a movie and assume that what you see and hear is the truth. Movies are made to make money. Happy stories don’t sell as many copies as scary ones do…and don’t cause as much media hype. If you watch a movie, and it makes you think and have questions, then take those questions and ask a farmer. Don’t assume that the movie is going to give you the answers.
Sorry this became a little long-winded, but it’s a subject that hits close to my heart. As I said in the beginning, I completely understand the need for some people to limit their meat intake, or choose not to eat meat at all. I’m fine with that. Just please, please don’t tell me that I’m less of a person for enjoying my meat-eating lifestyle…and for being just a little sad that George can’t enjoy the same.
Today is definitely a fall day. It’s cool, windy and a great day for hot cocoa…and it reminds me that in a few short weeks, hunting season begins!
For those new to my blog, last spring we had a TERRIBLE problem with deer in our yard. We aren’t sure on the exact number of deer that we were unintentionally feeding/housing, but we do know that about 180 of them died in our yard. Game and Fish estimate that approximately 10% die in a normal year, and every time we called them, they claimed there wasn’t a problem here. So, if 180 dying was 10% of our number of deer, well, you can do the math, right?
Needless to say, these deer are a nuisance and a danger to our cattle herd. And I do what I can to relieve the problem.
This year, we started out early with the special youth season. Two does have already been culled from the large number of deer already hanging around the area. Here’s my niece’s take on her successful hunting experience:
We (my dad, brother and I) were on our way to stake out at my aunt’s house. We were on the road to the south of my aunt’s house, when my dad said, “There are three deer in that field. They’re all does.” So we kept on driving and my dad asked me if I wanted to try to get one of them.
I said, “I don’t know will the farmer let us?” We went and asked the farmer if we could try to get one of the three deer. And being as kind as they were, they said, “Yes.”
I was so excited I was going to get my first deer!!!!!!
I loaded up my gun than headed to the field they were in. When we had walked to where we needed to be my dad went first to check it out and make sure the deer were still there.
Then so we weren’t seen we started crawling on our hands and knees through the cut wheat. We crawled about 75 yds to a haybale and check out if the deer were still there. My dad spoted them after a few minutes and so slowly on our hands and knees crawled forward. After crawling for 200 yds, my dad saw them at 153 yds and so I sighted up and went in for the kill.
I aimed at the first one I saw. I was so excited it was finaly here it was my turn to get a deer and I was ready to shoot my deer. I told my
dad which one I was aiming at and he said, “Whenever you’re ready, fire.”
So at first I was pulling the trigger slowly and then I got impatient and just pulled the trigger. I hit it and I was so excited! I was grinning from ear to ear. My dad told me, “You just barely nicked the shoulder blade nice shot.” And I got the biggest of the three!
My niece's first hunt, and a successful one at that!
And just for those that are wondering, yes, my sister and her husband are an avid hunting family and this doe will go a long way to fill their freezer with great food for the winter months! For those that hunt, but find that their freezer is too full to take all the meat, there is a great program in the state called, “Feeding Families, Meating Needs.” Check it out here!
I hope to be adding my own successful hunting story in just a few short weeks!
Where would we be if science wouldn’t have developed ways to fight against such horrible and devastating diseases? Where would we be without early detection and screenings available? I shudder to think.
Today I share another story. Remember to check back on this post to enter for my October Breast Cancer Awareness Month pink KitchenAid artisan stand mixer giveaway! It’ll be going to a lucky reader on Oct. 31, Halloween!
It says it all...Fight Like a Girl.
Thank you, Patsy, for sharing your story:
Cancer has touched everyone’s life I think. My dad and one brother died of lung cancer. My other brother and sister in law have both had lung surgery to remove cancer. Skin cancer, breast cancer, colon cancer and more have touched my family.
But my personal story is different. In January 2009 I got the call with the words, “you have a large, suspicious mass on your right ovary.” I won’t ever forget that phrase, the nurse’s inflection, the moment.
That afternoon I was having a scan, and seeing my family doctor, who had been insistent I get a pelvic sonogram. He told me surgery was going to be necessary. He spent almost two hours with me, answering questions, helping me wrap my mind around this.
A few days later I was sitting in a gynecological surgeon’s office. This man I’d never seen before said, “This looks bad. It has finger-like projections. You need to be operated on by someone who sees cancer every week. Not someone like me who sees it a couple of times a year.” I will always be thankful for his honesty.
A couple of days after that I was seeing a gynecological oncologist – a speciality I didn’t know existed the week before. He was much more reassuring, but also very direct. “The radiology looks bad. Very bad. But your age trumps that. Ovarian cancer is very rare in women under 50.” I wasn’t as much under 50 as I would have liked for security, but it was what it was.
Surgery day came and went, but there wasn’t a clear answer as expected. It was a “tumor of low malignant potential.” We thought this sounded great, until a nurse friend clued us in that could mean anything. Surgery was on a Tuesday. I was to find out on Thursday.
Wednesday night the phone rang in my hospital room and it was the doctor who said, “It was benign.” Benign. What a beautiful word. I thanked him for his extra efforts to find out early for me. I thanked him for the call. And I thanked God that I had just gotten the news people are praying for every day.
It was weeks later during the followup visit, when he showed me the radiology report, and explained that 7% of the tumor contained cancer cells, but they consider anything under 10% benign. My heart stopped for a moment. I realized if my family doctor had not insisted I go for a pelvic sonogram – if I had been one of the people who go for years without being diagnosed – I could have had a very different outcome. I was blessed.
It’s been a few days since I posted last…life has been on a roll again! When I say there’s never a dull moment here, I truly mean it! I’ll explain later, but for now, enjoy this photo:
The other day I opened the fridge, and was greeted with this:
Hmmm...wonder if this is a hint?
Call me crazy, but I believe someone may have been playing in the fridge! And for my dairy friends, half the sticks are real butter, half are the “other” kind. I don’t use real butter for George’s stuff, but Boss Man insists on it! 🙂 We’re a mixed house like that.
Today, I’m linking up with Katie over at Pinke Post for Wordless Wednesday. Go check her out and give her a follow, she’s amazing! (And a fellow Prairie Mama!)
Today has been a windy day on the prairie. And not just a little windy, but Wizard of Oz, there’s-no-place-like-home windy.
It’s been a rough 24 hours for the Wagner boys. First of all, yesterday a gentleman came in the yard to buy hay…and he had a pickup load of dogs (four to be exact). Just before they left, the dogs attacked and killed EJ’s kitty. He handled it pretty well, but the older boys took it pretty hard. *sigh* One of the dangers of farm life, I guess.
Then this morning, we woke up to this:
Uh oh, something doesn't look right here.
This time, it's not going to be a set-it-up-and-go kinda fix.
Yep, that's a doozy.
This horse may have to be put down.
I’m a little concerned about our garage (you know, the one without doors, thanks to this summers wind storm?), but I guess time will tell. May these winds settle down fast!
Wag'n Tales 
