Homestead Round Up

I'm starting a new section on my blog called Homestead Round Up! It's going to be a summary (with pictures) of my progress around the homestead.

The most exciting change? We've named our farm! We're now Thunder Goat Farm (like us on Facebook!). For those who don't know, Thor had goats pull his chariot, hence the name.

What else has been going on?

Well, there was a big wood pad buried in the ground that held the old washer and dryer, which I dug up and moved:

The hole is where it used to be.

We also put up more permanent skirting (the corrugated metal) and used field fence to allow access to our washer hook ups.

I started laying a brick patio using some old bricks that were on the property when we bought the house.

The Christmas tree John and I planted in December has a ton of new growth!

All those bright green spots are new growth!

My sister helped me pound T-posts for my garden:

I got the clothesline Ts cemented in:

Squint! They're in front of the corner of the trailer.

It's been a busy week! On top of that I sewed a hammock for a neighbor and started recovering some patio chair cushions for her.

Stay tuned for next week's update and check our Facebook page periodically. Right now there isn't much on it, but as we acquire more animals it should get more lively!

What's Up on the Homestead?

Remember when I said I'd update? Yeah, it didn't happen.I may have some photos to come, but right now, nope.

This post isn't an update, this post is a whine--and a new goal.

Dear hubby is INCREDIBLY picky. I didn't even realize that full grown adults could be so picky. Don't we all just grow out of it as we grow up?

I'll eat almost anything. I'm not a huge fan of fruit, I can admit that. I don't like raw fruit, I don't like fruit juice, I don't even like most desserts that have fruit in them, and I LOVE sweets. I'm also not a big fan of anything with almond extract. Yet, I will eat apple pie, blue berry pie, orange juice (with copious amounts of vodka--but that still counts, right?), and some tarts.

John won't eat:

• Ground beef (unless it's a burger--meatloaf patties don't count)
• Bean, and it doesn't matter whether they're whole, diced, pureed, on their own, in a salad, or hidden in brownies.
• Chiles-- he'll eat every hot sauce in the book, but actual, real food? Nope
• Onions--unless they're deep fried
• Tomatoes--unless it's pureed into a sauce.
• Pork--unless it's bacon
• Any cream or cheese sauce--unless it's powdered instant cheese
• Gravy

The man doesn't eat a single vegetable except raw baby spinach. The minute it's cooked he's done.

My new goal? Get this guy to eat SOMETHING. He lives off nothing but bread and cheese. I'm not altruistic. Don't get me wrong, I want him to be healthy and live a long happy life, but I really want him to get his IBS under control. When John eats healthy, his IBS improves. When John eats crap, it gets worse. I do not have the patience to listen to him bitch about his stomach being upset when it's self-inflicted!

I cook, I really do, but sometimes I just get tired of making the same three dishes! Then when I make something for myself because I love veggies, ground beef, and all things gravy, I go too far. While he's a good sport and does try two bites (per our agreement), he then thanks me for dinner and makes himself a hot dog--which makes his IBS horrible.

I'm going to start conning him in to eating healthier and I'll be sharing all kinds of great recipes to help others convince adults to eat like adults. A quick Pinterest search yielded tips for helping moms get their children to eat healthy. Growing up our options were eat what was cooked or starve--I'm not sure why moms suddenly need tips getting their kids to eat. I'm sure starvation still works. The bigger issue is convincing a real adult to eat what is cooked and not cook something more desirable for themselves.