Randomness from the Creek

 

Hi, y’all!  It just occurred to me that it has been about two weeks since I last posted, so I figured I better get typing.

Our family stayed busy last week with a dance recital (Lucy), a birthday (the Tool Man), and braces (Ty.)  I hope to share some pictures of these events soon. 

This week has been full of activity too.  Business meetings, hair appointments, school, birthday parties…  I’m also planning to take the monkeys to the Biedenharn Museum for their annual photo shoot, weather permitting.  It’ll be Tacy Mae’s first time over there, so it ought to be an exhausting interesting day.  Not to mention I’ll have an extra kiddo too – Cousin Caroline – who is only 4 months older than Tacy.  Thankfully, my mom will be helping me corral kids.  Still, I expect plenty of shenanigans.

I’ve been working on my baking skills too.  There’s nothing quite like the smell of fresh bread in the oven, don’t ya think?  Last night we enjoyed hot Buttery Sourdough Buns, and this morning I prepared a batch of fluffy Sourdough Waffles.  Yummo!

Perhaps the best thing happening around here is the change of seasons.  Spring is finally here!  Woo hoo!  It’s definitely my favorite time of year with the longer days and the warmer temps.  (Not to mention the fact that I can kick the monkeys outside for the better part of the day.)  Yesterday I actually noticed the first buds on my rose bushes!  I’m hoping that the freezing temperatures are all behind us now.  This is the South, doggone it!  Enough of the cold!

The Tool Man took advantage of the beautiful weather last week by doing some dirt work in our yard, chopping down “trash” trees, and planting some beautiful Leland Cypress trees.  Now we have our sights set on breaking ground in the garden.  I can’t wait to pick those first veggies!

Our hens are enjoying the changing seasons too, roaming around the yard foraging for bugs and grubs.  Thanks to some artificial light, they have faithfully supplied us with an abundance of eggs all winter.  At one point I had over 75 eggs in my refrigerator!  We usually collect about a dozen eggs every day from our 15 hens. 

Recently we started letting the ladies free range in our yard.  Hey, as long as they stay out of my garage, I don’t care where the chickens spend their time.  The only problem with their free ranging is that they don’t always lay in the coop.  In fact, I pulled 10 eggs out of the dog’s house yesterday.  I wonder in what other secret places they’ve been laying.  Hmm…

I always feel so “farmer-ish” when I go out to collect the eggs - like I should be wearing an apron and humming “Old McDonald.”  Here my little helper assists me in gathering the precious treasures.

For the most part, we have a good relationship with our chickens.  We love them and vice versa.

For the most part…

There’s an exception to every rule, right?

Meet Rusty the rooster.

I snapped this picture of him while he was in mid crow.  When he crows it sounds just like he’s yelling, “Who just laid an egg?”  Lol.  (FYI: If you think dawn is the only time of day roosters crow, you’re wrong.  Rusty is vocal all day long.)

Rusty has gotten rather feisty lately.  Quite the little guard rooster is he.

That’s good if you’re a hen.

Not so good if you’re a chicken farmer.

Rusty will go out of his way to run you down.  I won’t collect eggs unless he’s at a safe distance.  The Tool Man is bit braver than me, and he’s got the scratches to prove it.  If Rusty doesn’t watch his step, he could be the focal point of our Easter BBQ.

Next week promises to be full of excitement too.

I’m headed to Canton for a weekend of flea market fun!  Yippee!!  Can you tell I’m a little excited?  I’m hoping I’ll score some great finds – particularly for Lucy Lee’s room.  Poor thing!  She’s nearly five years old, and her sorry mama still hasn’t completed her room.  One day, baby, one day.

Well, that’s all for now.  Talk to y’all later.

Lindsey

Sour Attitude

About three weeks ago I had a crazy idea.

A really crazy idea.

I decided I needed something else to do in my “spare” time.

Like eat bread.

Fresh bread.

Homemade bread.

Sourdough bread!

For some time now, I’ve been curious about sourdough “starter.”  I’d seen it called for in recipes, but I had no idea what it was or where it came from or even what it looked like!

Hmm… time for a little research.  Thanks to the wonder that is the internet, I educated myself on the ins and outs of making sourdough starter. Then, I plunged headlong into making a starter of my very own.  (See, I told you it was a crazy idea.)

I decided I wanted to do it the most basic way possible.

Flour + Water.

That was it.

I fed my magical mixture of goo more flour and water twice a day for the next three weeks, and finally…success!  I had grown my own culture of yeast.

Let the baking begin!

I chose to begin by baking a country-style sourdough round.

With a dark, crispy crust on the outside…

…and a moist, soft, chewy texture on the inside.

What about the flavor?

Well, thanks to the slow, overnight fermentation, the taste was fabulously acidic.  Delightfully tangy, just like sourdough should be.

Yum!  I can’t wait to try more recipes with my beloved starter.  I’m thinking I’ll make rolls next.

Lindsey

P.S.  If any of my friends would like some starter, y’all know where to find me.  I’ve got plenty to share.

Tacy Mae – 5 Months

Another month has come and gone.  Time to share pictures from Tacy Mae’s latest photo shoot.

To say that Tacy Mae is a good baby would be an understatement.  I mean it.  She is good!  She only fusses if she’s in discomfort, whether that be from pain or hunger – usually hunger.  She’s terrific during church.  And when it comes to sleep habits, Tacy’s a dream.  (Pun intended.)  When it’s nap time I lay her down in her crib and she goes to sleep.  Yes, that simple.  And every night she sleeps at least 10 hours, usually from 10 pm until 8 am.  Thank you, Lord!

It’s getting a bit trickier to take Tacy’s picture each month.  She’s about to outgrow the blanket I’ve been using to lay her on.

Come to think of it, it’s getting trickier to do a lot of things with Tacy, thanks to her ever-improving ability to reach and grab.  She tries to get her hands (and mouth) on anything that’s in front of her… a hot cup of coffee, a napkin, an iPhone, a computer mouse, a bite of chicken (more on the chicken later).  I took advantage of this and introduced her to baby rice cakes a couple of weeks ago.  She’s seems to like them and is doing quite well gnawing the cakes and making a general mess of things.

Rat on the run!  Coco had to come check things out.

Tacy has just started noticing our little chihuahua.  She’s gotten a handful of Coco’s fur and one of her ears a time or two.  Thankfully Coco doesn’t seem to mind Tacy’s loving.  She actually seems to like snuggling with the baby. 

One new discovery Tacy made this month was her feet.  She’s even managed to get a toe in her mouth a couple of times, although she hasn’t quite mastered that trick.  Socks don’t stand a chance on Tacy’s feet.  She pulls them off almost as soon as you can get them on her.

As far as Tacy’s hair goes, it’s finally beginning to lie down better this month.  Don’t get me wrong.  It still prefers to stand straight up, but at least it can be tamed with a brush and some baby lotion now.

If you want to make Tacy mad, all you gotta do is lay her down on her tummy.  Tacy does not like tummy time!  Hey, if your belly was as big as her’s you probably wouldn’t like it either.  But she’s got to do it.  How else is she going to learn to crawl around and get into everything?

When she’s older Tacy will probably hate me for this next picture, but I gotta show it to y’all anyway.  Have you ever seen so much adipose tissue in all your life?  Her rolls have rolls!  I love every squishy inch of it.

Last but not least, it’s time for a picture with big sis.  Lucy insisted on wearing white too this month.

Oh, Lucy.  You will be the one who sends me to the loony bin.  This girl is a hoot!  The things that come outta her mouth… I could write a book.  And “high maintenance” doesn’t even begin to describe her.

Tacy’s so lucky.  No one has a sister who loves her more!

Lindsey

Test

Hey y’all.  Please excuse me while I’m doing a little housekeeping here.  I’m having some trouble uploading Tacy’s 5 month post.  I’ve got tons of cute pics to share with y’all, but I can’t get them to load up on Blogger.  Just trying to see if I can figure out the problem.  Hopefully I’ll get this worked out soon.

Lindsey

Capitol Affairs, Part II

As promised I’m back today with the second half of our tour of Louisiana’s Capitol building.  If you missed the first half, you can check it out here.

After our tour of Governor Huey Long’s office, Representative Broadwater took our little group to the House and Senate committee meeting rooms.  He explained to us how committee members met here to discuss various issues and hear comments and questions from an audience. 

I have to admit, this was not the most interesting stop on our tour, but it was in this room that Ty said something I will never forget.  Rep. Broadwater had just told us that before audience members were allowed to speak they had to raise one of 3 colored cards – red, green, or white.  Basically, the cards indicate whether the comment would be for, against, or neutral to the issue at hand.  It was at this point that I noticed Ty’s hand shoot up.  He had something to say.  Nervously I waited to hear his comment.

“I thought the white card would mean that the people had something to say about Jesus.”

I never would have guessed that’d be what he’d say!  It took a second or two for me to process it.  What on earth was he talking about?

But as I thought about Ty’s words, I began to realize how innocent and genuine his question had been.  It was only logical to him that lawmakers would consider Christ first when making important decisions.

Wow!  I was completely amazed.  Ty was definitely on to something.  How much better would our government be if our leaders were more concerned about pleasing Christ than gaining popularity, having power, or making money.

I’m thankful that my little boy raised his hand this day.  Thankful for the words that came out of his mouth.  And even more thankful for the heart from which these words came.  I pray that his heart may always be so inclined.

Back to the tour…

The governor’s parking spot.  If his car is here, he’s in the building.  Unfortunately the spot was empty at this time.

Time for a change in altitude.  From the basement we made our way to the observation deck of the capital, some thirty floors up.  FYI:  Louisiana has the tallest capitol building of all fifty states.  Leave it to Huey!

I was a nervous as a cat on a hot tin roof up here.  Me no like heights.  I did however enjoy the view of the Mighty Mississippi.  I don’t know what it is exactly, but something about the river has always intrigued me.  The kids enjoyed watching the barges trudge up and down the river.  Another fun fact:  Baton Rouge is the furthest inland port servicing international cargo ships in the United States.

Nothing like defacing currency to commemorate our trip.  Who knew the kids would have such fun pressing pennies.

Luckily my camera battery held out for one last picture as we were leaving the capitol.  The front steps of the building have the names of all fifty states and the year in which they entered the union.  Ty and Lucy found Louisiana’s step and struck a pose.

What a fun day!  I’m pretty sure I learned more than the kids did on this field trip.  Ha ha.  That’s ok.  They enjoyed the day too.  And I know that being able to see and touch and walk through history was more meaningful to them than just reading words off a page.

I can’t wait for our next adventure!

Lindsey

Capitol Affairs, Part I

As if we needed another reason to love homeschooling, why not add spur-of-the-moment field trips to the mix?

Since school reconvened after the Christmas holidays, Ty has been doing a special unit in history called My State Notebook.  He’s learning all about the history, culture, industry, climate, and geography of Louisiana.  I for one have thoroughly enjoyed getting to do this unit with Ty, because we have been able to incorporate quite a few fun activities into our study.  Louisiana is such a colorful state – from food, to music, to politics, there has been no shortage of interesting topics to discuss.

So a couple of weeks ago, when the Tool Man had to make a quick trip down south for business, I made the comment that the kids and I should go along and ride on down to Baton Rouge to see the capitol.  Next thing I know, the Tool Man called a friend of his, Representative Chris Broadwater, and set up a private tour of the capitol for later that day!

It takes us a good 3 hours to make it down to Baton Rouge, so we kicked it into high gear – waking monkeys, feeding babies, getting dressed.  In about half an hour we were headed out the door.  We also invited Ty’s cousins to come along, since they are homeschooling for the first time this year.

After making a couple of business stops along the route, we finally arrived at the capitol just after lunch and met up with these guys.

First stop on the tour was the House of Representatives.  We found the desk of our own representative and sat down for a photo-op.  Ty was supposed to say something politically profound into the mic, but he drew a blank.  (I’m sure this happens to a lot of politicians.)

The ceiling in this room is quite impressive, especially when you consider it is made out of sugar cane!

Across the foyer of the capitol is the Senate.  It looks pretty similar to the house.  The most interesting thing in this room is also found in the ceiling.  There’s a pencil lodged in the ceiling where a bomb went off many years ago.  I hope you can see it in this picture.  It is just to the right of that star…

Anybody who knows anything about Louisiana politics probably knows where the focus of this tour is headed.

People, it’s all about the Kingfish.

Huey.

P.

Long.

I could have named this post the “Huey P. Long Tour.”  From here on out he’s pretty much all we discussed.

From the Senate, we made our way down the hall where Governor Long was shot.  This tour couldn’t have been timed better for Ty, since it was only the day before this that we discussed the life and career of Huey Long.

Even Lucy was incredibly interested in hearing the tales of Huey Long.  It amazes me how much she listens to the topics that Ty and I are discussing in school.  I love it when I am reviewing previous lessons with Ty, and Lucy chimes in with the correct answers.

Here, Lucy is showing Lily the only remaining bullet hole from the night Governor Long was gunned down.

Adjacent to the bullet hole is this display chronicling the conspiracy around Huey P. Long’s death.

Moving along…

Representative Broadwater took us to see Huey Long’s desk and office.  Today, I believe these are the offices of the Speaker of the House.  I could be wrong about that though. (Lol.  I really did try to pay attention during this tour, but when you are attempting to keep a bunch of monkeys from wreaking havoc on your state capitol, you miss a few details here and there.)  Anyway, somebody important works here!

Seriously, these kids were well behaved the entire day.  Just look at them!

Even Miss Tacy Mae got the opportunity to take a seat behind Governor Long’s desk.

In the wall in Governor Long’s office, was this board which lit up as senators and representatives cast their votes.  (It was still in use until just a few years ago.)  Rep. Broadwater explained to us how Huey Long would watch the lights, and if lawmakers weren’t voting “according to plan” Long had a switch underneath his desk that would disable the system.  Then Governor Long would walk down to the Senate or House, and “persuade” the men to vote as he wanted as they had earlier agreed.  Crooked man, that Mr. Long.

Ty and Lucy climbed under the desk to find the infamous switch for themselves.  If you want to hear something cute, all you have to do is ask Lucy about “the switch.”  She can tell you all about it.

This was Reese’s attempt to “discreetly” flip the switch.

From there we walked down to the basement where Rep. Broadwater showed us the tunnel Huey Long used to access the capitol.  He’d drive his car right into the building, hop directly onto an elevator, and ride up to his penthouse without most folks knowing he was in the building.

This looks like a good place to take a break for now.  I hope you will come back for Part II of our capitol adventure.

Lindsey