Tater tot hotdish

January 26th I made tater tot hotdish. I started by browning the hamburger. 

I added some mushrooms. 

Green beans were next.

Instead of just layering everything,  I decided to blend it together a bit.

I stopped and thinned out some cream soup.

I did behave and layer the tater tots. 

The cream of soup is the last thing that goes on before it is covered and goes into the oven.

It looks like I forgot to take a photo of the finished meal. Ooops!

Out of control

I was feeling a little bit out of control.  My office had become my "wing-it" room.  I purchased a monitor to use for work.  But I had no place to put it.  

My sister came over to help me move the large pieces, clean and throw things away.  We were successful on the first two.  I did throw some things away but not enough (according to Tabatha.)

Most of allI now feel like my workspace is under control again.

Spinning

I was recently spinning on a trip.  I have 2 colors of roving which I alternate.  

But as I spun, I realized this was spinning differently.  It was pure wool from Gizem instead of the Lama-wool blend that I had been using.  Oh well!  It will look nice in the project.

The chicken herder

We had a couple of warm days this week.  I decided to let the chickens out.  They were coming out a few at a time which was unusual.

This is what I found when I looked inside.  I think Isaac named this one Fynn. I am calling it the chicken herder. I am sure you have heard people say, "doing ____ is like hearding cats." Maybe it is really like a cat herding chickens?

The other half of the story was that the cat knew a few sparrows were trying to nest in the chicken coop and that meant hunting time! 

I am at a new hotel

I am still in Louisiana for work.  But I am at a different hotel. I have been taking pictures all week for this post. I just haven't had time to write.

My floor is the only one with the pumpkin coach.  It made me wonder if there was a wedding and everyone stayed on this floor.  The state was shut down for a day and a half because of weather.

I stopped on my way back to the hotel to pick up hotel food.  Look these club crackers have tiny packages inside the the huge box.

Inside the elevator ... they make me miss my dogs. 

Here is my version of cheese and crackers. Are you chuckling now?

The weather hit.  By the Minnesota standards it was a minor snowfall at an inconvenient time over morning rush hour. By Louisiana standards it was a terrible winter storm.

Yes it was a bit "cray cray".

It is currently Mardi Gras season in Louisiana. Paige brought in a miniature Kings cake.  Traditionally a baby Jesus figure would be baked into the cake.  Due to people suing after breaking teeth on them or swallowing them, fewer places bake the figure into the cake. 

The person who finds the King gets the honor of ...

...bringing the King cake next.

...hosting the next celebration.

... (each family has their own "honor".)

Weekend Workout Farm style

I set a goal for the weekend.  It is to get the remainder of 2016 hay bales moved.

I have a good area up by the door that has been cleared from some of 2017 bales.  

The most challenging part was getting the gloves under the baling twine so that I could lift them.  My other challenge is that I have many allergies including hay and dust. Yes, I am going to pay for this workout.

There was one bale which was out of the feeding trough.  I decided to crawl down and toss that bale out into the back pasture for the donkeys and steers.

They all have other hay in the field.  But new is like candy.  It was a special treat.

I made it.  There were about 35 bales which were moved.

27 fit in the small area by the door.

The rest of the bales were stacked up at the end to work as a wind block.  

I decided to take two straw bales and refresh the bedding for the sheep and donkeys.

They were excited!  Not for the new bedding but because they had a change in their diet.  I kept speading out the straw.  They can eat it or bed on it.

Done! Oh yeah. Curly was feeling left out.

I gave him a couple wedges of straw.

When I got back to the house, I was met by 4 Dobermans. They took me for a walk.  We walked from the house (behind the white barn and red shed) to the Southwest corner of the property.

Below Skyler is waiting to pounce on the other dogs coming up behind me.

We continued our walk down the West property line talking to the steers on the way by. 

Our hobby farm currently has 6 sheep, 2 donkeys and 2 steers along with ducks, chickens and guinea hens.