Sunday, January 11

I love this life.

John got his first squirrel today. He's been out target shooting every opportunity possible, so he'd be ready for just this occasion. And he is probably the happiest boy in the world. He'd actually be happier if he'd gotten another one, but I'm okay with just one because it's going to take me a while to work up the gumption to actually cook it. And that's the rule: you kill it, you eat it. Of course, in his enthusiasm, he loosely translated that to "we'll eat it", and he's been aching "to get you a squirrel, Mom" since roughly 9:37 Christmas morning, when he opened his .410/.22 combo. He was bursting with pride today as he called me out onto the porch to see what he'd brought me.

Funny, all along, I thought I was raising children and come to find out, I've raised a cat. Anyway, we're thinking pot pie... I'll let you know how that goes.

And, ironically, I spent the day disinfecting the house. The two are not related, however. (Though perhaps they should be.) We've been passing some kind of sinusy gunk back and forth since September. Considering that evens out to be only about 6-8 days per person, it's not bad. But the cumulative effect from seven people in one home is a bit wearing on the tribal leaders. So. Yay. All cleaned and sanitized. Except for the porch, obviously.

Wood stove update: still loving it! The low tonight is near freezing, and the porch is stacked with wood for the fire. The house is staying around 70 degrees, which makes this, hands down, the warmest, coziest winter we've had. We checked the propane tank yesterday, and it's still over 60% full. It was last filled sometime in late October, early November (only fills to 80% max). We have a little 250gal. tank. Last winter, we had to have a delivery every month (min. 100 gal. delivery - ouch!), and the house never got above 60 degrees. What a sanity saver this thing has been! Both James and John have become quite proficient at starting and tending the fire, which is great, because when it comes to building fires I could smoke a moose before I got a good flame going (although I've had better luck w/ this stove, which I appreciate). Fortunately, they enjoy doing it, too.

And, in discussing plans for EmBaby's birthday, she informed us she has decided to be four this year. Her brothers protested, so her final compromise is that she'll be "three and four". It seems the plan is to hurry up and turn five. "Then I'll be Jacob!" We're glad she's enthusiastic, but we may have to work a bit on her grasp of the process. The boys want to make the decorations for her birthday, so while she naps, they plan to take advantage of the time and get things lined up. Smidge wondered where we'd hide them, and James helpfully suggested, "We can hide them in the master bathroom, where Mom hides the Christmas presents. That's an excellent hiding place!"

Yep, I do love this life.

Kiss those babies!
~Dy

7 comments:

Anonymous said...

So this is for rabbit, but I'm betting squirrel will work just as well!
Rabbit (squirrel) Gumbo
1 small onion, chopped
1 small green pepper, chopped
1/4 cup oil
1(3 lb) dressed rabbit, halved and cut into pieces
1/2 lb. smoked sauage, halved and cut into 1/4 inch slices
1 tsp. salt
1/2 tsp. dried thyme
1/4 tsp. pepper
1/4 tsp. cayenne pepper
1/2 cup okra (optional)
Hot cooked rice
In dutch oven, saute the onion and green pepper in oil until tender. Add rabbit and enough water to cover. Cover with lid and cook, simmering 1 1/2 to 2 hours, or until meat is tender. Add sausage and seasonings. Simmer uncovered for 15 to 20 minutes. Remove rabbit and cool. Debone and cut into bite-sized pieces. Return to pan; stir in okra, bring to a boil. Serve in bowls over hot cooked rice.

Melora said...

Yay John! How exciting! And does he also have to clean it? That is the part that would get to me. But I'm sure it will be the best pot pie ever!

Em is growing up so fast! (though obviously not fast enough for her) Have you explained that Smidge will keep having birthdays too?

Dy said...

Thanks for the recipe, Erin. It sounds really yummy! We'll try it at some point. We don't eat a lot of gumbo, and I'd kind of prefer something familiar for our first run. I'm a weenie that way.

Melora, yes, he had to clean it. With rights come responsibilities. It's how we live. (That, and I'm not cleaning it! But that's okay b/c I didn't kill it. lol.)

We didn't push it w/ Em. She'll figure it out, eventually. (I hope.)

Ritsumei said...

You are braver than I would be about that squirrel! But I love the way that you're doing it. That's wonderful. The hiding place is also terribly funny.

Do you mind posting where you got your 1776 badge? I just love it.

Kathy Jo DeVore said...

If that's the rule, there's no way in hell that I'll ever kill something, because I have no intention of cleaning it. ;)

Yea, John. And, um, this is the first time I've ever been glad that we're not close enough to invite over for dinner. LOL

Re: ages, Joshua turned five on Christmas. Just before Christmas, he informed us that after his birthday, he'd be older than Jared. He was very disappointed to find out that he'd NEVER be older than Jared. And I'm afraid it didn't seem to cheer him up that he'd have reading lessons this year.

mere said...

Bar-b-cued squirrel is good too, but you'd need more than one squirrel to make the effort worth it. Did y'all keep the skin to tan? Wouldn't a squirrel skin cap with the little tail hanging off be hilarious? Well, it made me giggle anyway...

S.J. has informed us she wants a blueberry cake and party hats for her b-day. Where she gets these ideas I don't know.

mere

Jules said...

You'll have to let me know how the squirrel turns out. I've got two boys here just itching to be able to go out there and shoot something besides pop cans. I know my turn is coming soon so I better stock up on recipes because we also will enforce the "you kill it, you eat it" rule.

I hope you're staying warm! We had actual temps of -23 this morning with wind chills of -50. Schools were canceled all over the place, except for around our kitchen table! :)