A Random Post

This little teeny tiny 8 x 10 room is our "office".  You see the closet which does not have a door on it. 

The "organizer" shelf that holds all my scrapbooking supplies and photos. 

(not all, but the supplies at least) and a file drawer which we don't even use anymore.  

I have come up with a Plan. 

I'm going to move the scrapbooking stuff into the big bedroom (for now) because I hope to work on some books over the winter.  If not... it's going to be banished to the little Derksen building. 

I'm moving the loveseat in here, against the wall out of view to your right... and the file drawer is being pitched.  We'll put the second tv on the wall to the right of the window, or on a table there. 

This is going to be the "tv room" cum "computer room".  Keith has to sit on the end of the bed right now if he wants to watch anything but what I am watching... and he has longed for a special place where he could be comfortable. 

I think the big chair is going... but the computer, just out of sight to the left, is staying.  We'll have to see if it all fits, but I think if the shelves are out, there will be room for the loveseat.  Then I'm going to have to find a way for Abby to still see out of the window in the living room where the loveseat sits now, as she and Gertie used it to see Daddy coming in the gate every night. 

I'll wait until later this week to start moving things, as I have Paiton all day tomorrow, the youngest granddaughter on my side. 

Nancy Thellman, if you are reading this... I am SO SORRY. 

So is Lilly, I'm sure.  Deep down. 

Not. 

Neighbor Kathy's front porch.  

LOVE. 

Mushrooms?  In November?  Really?

The henspa flock is still working the garden beds for me, as well as the compost heaps.  I can see getting them out during gardening season next year is going to take some thinking... but I do want to let them out for an hour or so a day.  Right now, I turn them out at 4, when I put the goats up, and Lilly in. 

This big guy... he has done a little better these last few days since I doubled his pain meds.  Every morning, as long as we have had him, he has come out on the porch and barked.  Here he is doing it this morning... he barked at the llamas for four years, and has barked at the goats since we got the first two in May.  It's just a Ranger thing. 

To his right, there is a farmhouse table with an enamel top that I bought at a sale over the weekend.  I have a purpose for it.  I'm not telling. 

(It's going into the storage building right now to be kept nice and clean before goats decide to use it). 

Hmmm. This is the south end of a west-moving Peacock that was in the road as I passed by our neighbor's, Roxanne at Screamin' Oaks Dairy.  There were two out there. 

I could not get them to stop for a second. 

I wanted to show you this because every day on Facebook I get "Warbler Calls" which is HERE.  

It features pictures of beautiful birds, and common birds, taken by professional and amateur photographers, and it is really an interesting post daily.  I wanted to let you all know about it if you had never heard of it. 

I had to go to the bank this morning, and ran into True Value to get another hose nozzle... (don't ask, Keith).  As long as I was there, I ran into Goodwill for a minute. 

My gosh, folks. 

This beautiful old organ...I would buy it just to save it!

$199.99. 

Gorgeous. 

Detail of the keyboard, and if you biggify, you will see that the stops are labeled with their "sounds". 

Gorgeous!

If you look back at the first picture, there is a pedestal on either side of the organ... I am guessing these were for lanterns of some kind... or candles.  

I would buy it just to take care of it, or donate it. 

I just may.  I did try the lid, and it still slid smoothly down over the keyboard, so some one loved this organ. 

And now, friends, I must go out and do some chores here at our own little place, and think about the music that must have delighted people who heard this organ in it's prime. 

Magical! 

Morels and Kids

Yes, we've notice lots of trucks stopping on our road lately.  You see, across from us is a wild area, where a church intends to build.  

We see trucks pulling up and people getting out, just for a few minutes. 

We see Kathy and Troy next door, walking hand in hand to the back of their ten acres.... with a basket. 

Here's what they are after: 

In the middle, like a fairy cap.

You will laugh when you realize Keith and I are starting our ninth summer here and we never knew WE had morels growing on our land!

After a long talk with Troy, I decided to investigate yesterday after feeding the babies.

As a friend said to me this morning "But they're so squishy".  

Indeed, they were.  And, they were growing amongst the "leaves of three" so I was pretty stealthy about it.  I cannot tell a lie, I also reached through the fence to snatch some out of the Spehar's copse of trees. 

There are more down there. 

I washed the outside dirt off them, and then took each, and cut them from stem to stern in four pieces. 

Yes, they were a little limp then. 

After they were pretty clean, I rinsed again, covered them with water, and salted them.  I did this so that any little critters on them (ants) would be killed.  

We let them sit for an hour, in the fridge. 

My photography skills are awesome. 

Then, I took a semi-dry morel... dunked it in egg... dredged it in flour... 

and...

Into a hot iron skillet, with, yes, a HUGE chunk of butter melting in it. 

It soon turned to this:

Almost there (and yes, I made a mess)

O. My. Sweet. Goodness. 

Here we are, just about ready to sit.... we had the first hamburgers grilled outside this year, some corn on the cob, and the morels.  Keith got little slider buns.  We melted some real butter for the corn, what the hey. 

In the old days, we would have had a hamburger each, and multiple pieces of corn and all the mushrooms.  As it happens, Keith is dieting and I am cooking differently now.  Keith weighed in officially this morning and has lost 19.8 pounds!!!!  Our hamburgers are slider size (just as good) and we splurged on the mushrooms (delicious) and corn (equally as delicious!) 

The rest of the mushrooms went to the chickens in the henspa, who went gaga over them. 

We have enough down there for another helping, at least.  We hope they spread. 

They are going for 20 to 40 dollars per pound on Craigslist right now in our area! 

Here's Kody butting Aunt Abby this morning as she tried to come into the barn.  I had to sit and laugh, she helps me feed them daily... and gets a squirt in the mouth for herself.  The babies play with her, and when she sits, they will come over and half-stand on her. She is completely unfazed by them. 

They have been the absolute blessing this past week... so funny to watch, and sweet to care for.

They have the run of their pen now, and can come in and out as they will.  Their feeder is inside... when they are ready for it, but I am getting an outside covered feeder from a man who kept Nigerians this weekend.  

He told me we would absolutely fall in love with them, and he was so right. 

Here's Kody giving grandson Chris a thank you for the rock pile he made for them to play on last week. 

That's it for a sunny day from Calamity Acres.