Winter Workings

We finally were able to pick up the wood cook stove I talked about a while ago. It is very hard to wait for a place to be built to use it in! It is in very good shape and is the one that they used before they got their present one. It isn't an air-tight one so we won't be using it to heat (well, maybe a little bit) the house as well as for cooking.
It was so beautiful to see all of the teams hitched to the wagons with snow on the ground because everyone was busy cutting ice to fill the ice houses with. The ice had gotten five inches thick and there was a break in the weather so it was time to cut! I really appreciate the men that stopped working right away to help load the stove.
Things are very busy this time of year celebrating Christmas. I really do love Christmas and don't want it to end too quickly.
We weren't able to see the lunar eclipse last night because it was cloudy. Disappointing! Interesting that it was a blood moon.
Hope your days are going well and that you are also enjoying the holidays.
Nancy

More Turkey Details

Here's how we were able to fit the turkey in the oven: Fortunately, in this oven you are able to put the rack down just above the bottom coils. The rack bowed down from the weight of the turkey which enabled us to barely pry the legs into an opening in the coils on top of the oven. Pretty funny, huh? We were hoping to not have to cut the legs off to get it in and it worked! After it cooked for a while the legs shrank down just enough to pull it out of the oven to baste without touching the coils. The men took turns getting it out of the oven because it was so heavy. It was a lot of fun and after Thanksgiving everyone we or family members talked to wanted to know how cooking the turkey went. :-)
Yes, we have eaten a LOT of leftover turkey (even though 13 people ate here for Thanksgiving dinner) including turkey sandwiches (my favorite!), turkey dinner leftovers, turkey casserole, and turkey soup, AND we sent turkey home with family members AND we put some in the freezer for sandwiches later. It's been a tremendous blessing.
Nancy

Latest Goings-On

It took a little doing but, we were able to fit the turkey in the oven. Fortunately, fresh turkeys don't take as long to cook. Otherwise, it would have taken a mighty long time! The meat was exceptionally moist and delicious. It was one of the broad-breasted whites but, raising it the traditional way from spring to fall, resulted in a bird that was very well-proportioned with plenty (and I do mean plenty) of white and dark meat. Interestingly, the heirloom breed Spanish Black turkeys that we have raised this year are much smaller with different eating habits and most of their instincts intact. We enjoyed raising this batch of the broad-breasted ones more than any of the others, probably because they had to be herded into an inside shelter each night and then herded out to pasture each morning. We really got to know them! (We had more problems with predators this year than ever and lost some in the pasture pens in the beginning.) Unfortunately, the broad-breasted ones are a hybrid breed and are unable to mate so we will be keeping some of the blacks for that purpose.
We have been having some frigid weather lately and I'm having a hard time adjusting. It seems like we just jumped into winter and there are so many outside things that I want to work on! Good thing that the Lord put the seasons in place because I wouldn't know when to quit! I have been able to do some sewing and other indoor projects and am hoping to be able to gear down and enjoy more of the inside things soon. We really should enjoy each and every day and season, shouldn't we?
Nancy