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Knowing Our Food

Our quest to know our food and how it was raised and fed has come to the end. At least paritally. We took our first batch of Cornish Cross meat chickens to the processor to become dinner. Hard day to say the least.

Amazingly we did not lose any before we delivered them to the dinner making place. Usually the standard 10% is lost prior to ever making it to process weight. I dont know if we are good at it or just got lucky with the chicks we got but we got 51 and still had 51 until yesterday.

Doyle built some cages to transport them in. The poultry processor is a little over an hour away and we got an early appointment to beat the heat. We caught them and loaded them into the cages we built and made a little shade for them. I really did not want to go with him but he needed a direction reader as we havent been there before. We took 20 this first time and need to build a third cage when we take the other 31 down.

I think I will sit out the next visit. I actually stayed in the truck the whole time. Doyle said the place was brand new and very clean inside. All stainless steel and concrete with a quick and humane kill. I still felt awful all day long. I really am rethinking this "know my food source" stuff. I know they lived a better life than in a huge place where they are kept in 8" square cages for a 13" square bird but I still struggled. I must admit the cowards way is to know it only as it comes from the store and I kind of like it that way. This was not the cheaper way to go. I figure we have $10 into each bird start to finish but since 31 are yet to finish I am not sure just yet. But cost wasnt the point, the healthy, chemical and medication free food was. I hope they taste good. If I can eat them.

In this picture you can see that this bird dressed out at a little over 6 pounds. They all came between 5.5 and 6.5 pounds. The intake man at the processor said that our birds were in excellent shape and were clean and well kept. That made us feel good. We never were able to leave the house during this endeavor as these birds drank 25 gallons of water every day. It has been a long 9 weeks and we still have a week or two to go. Is it all worth it? I dont know yet. I will let you know how they taste when I finally get up the nerve to eat one. I wont waste them, that would be sacrificing what they did for us, but it may take me a week to actually cook one. I am proud of me for not crying but I still feel bad. I will get better with this but I wont be raising pigs for dinner any time soon.

Knowing Our Food

Our Sunday

Kids came from Malmö where theyd stayed the night and played with cousin Noel so that mum and dad could join a Schödins 2x40 years party. Daniel met up the boys in Bjärred where Kevin went to a celebrate a friends birthday while Oliver, dad and grandparents chilled out by the waterfront and on the long bridge.
Later Kevin had Liam around. They went to their school to play on the swings. Their laughter was heard in the whole neighborhood. We had dinner with Liams family at our place before crashing in bed!

Our Sunday

Mini Donkeys in Our Future

Saturday morning Doyle and I are going to look at a pair of these darling little guys. Mini Donkeys! Yeah us! They are half brothers who will only grow to 32 inches tall give or take an inch. They are now 3 months old and will be ready to come live with us at the end of the month. Guess we will be retrofitting the barn again. They will need to be kept separate from the pygmy goats because donkeys play a little rougher than goats. Boy would they give Ollie a run for his money. I cant wait to see them and will take lots of pictures so I can share them with all of you. I can see a mini donkey pair pulling a cart in the Council 4th of July parade. We are on our way to full fledged farm yet!

Mini Donkeys in Our Future

Look! Moms Dishes! Connections To Our Past

Sometimes I think I have the best job in the world, getting to work with beautiful

china pieces day in and day out...sometimes it actually feels more like a privilege

than an actual profession. After all, each of these plates and cups and saucers

and other dinnerware pieces all have history behind them. They come from

many different countries, from all around the world, and their beautiful

patterns and colors give them a unique appeal that brings them to life

unlike other ordinary household objects.

We remember dishes.

Theyre a part of our family in some ways, a part of each of our own personal histories.

Have you not once in your life been somewhere, maybe an antique market or

thrift shop, and come across an orphaned plate or cup that you instantly

recognized from somewhere in your own past?

At that moment of recognition, it isnt just "a plate" or "a cup," but moms plate,

or grandmothers cup. There is a connection. Often when that connection is

made we find ourselves flooded with memories of family from long ago,

or of our childhood, or of holidays and times past. If youre the

sentimental type like I am, it can be a comforting experience.

Ive been working with dishes for so long now that I know the patterns by name.

No, I dont talk to them, but in a way, they speak to me. I see them as

valuable, not monetarily valuable, but valuable in a way that fills your

soul with warmth and peace just as memories of loved ones do.

This was, after all, someones grandmothers plate.
Someone just like you.

Check out my new DIY jewelry instruction books and DVDs!

Learn how to solder and make unique jewelry!

My broken china jewelry is always available for purchase at https://www.etsy.com/shop/dishfunctionldesigns

Look! Moms Dishes! Connections To Our Past

Love our boat life!

Picked up Take Away on our way to our boat and went out for a magic evening that just got calmer and calmer. 5 cods and 2 mackerel was the catch of the night which of course make it all seem so much more worth rushing out after work.

Love our boat life!

Hens in our livingroom

Our hens are now privileged to be let out of the hens house every day. This is the company we get when opening up our backdoor.

Hens in our livingroom

Could sheds solve our housing problems

An interesting short piece in The Guardian by Patrick Barkham suggests that "planners could draw inspiration from the simplicity of the original concep" of the Shed of the Year competition. Heres a snippet:

"Perhaps it is too much to hope that our love for sheds might yet transform our housing industry, planning system and building regulations to allow the creation of simpler, cheaper, low-consumption homes. But that passion should be a start."

Readers may also want to take a peak at something I wrote along similar lines a couple of years ago for The Independent.
Image courtesy Tiny House UK-------------------------------------------------------------------------------

Tuesday posts are sponsored by Garden Spaces, suppliers of contemporary garden buildings, offices, gyms and studios, many of which do not require planning

Could sheds solve our housing problems

Hanging out with Our House Now a Home

Happy Friday!! Today Im over visiting with Emily from Our House Now a Home on her "Share Your Space" series. Pop over and say hello!

With a small budget, big dreams and a love of a challenge, Anne blogs about renovating and decorating her tiny 1930s bungalow. A self-taught artist and professed power tool lover, she enjoys writing, gardening, photography, nature and diying. And shes never met a dumpster she didn’t want to root through! Come along for the ride!!

Hanging out with Our House Now a Home