My souse chef

Thanksgiving did not go as planned, but Duncan and I had fun.
Here he is stirring the trinity for Giblet stock. He was not the best souse chef, since he went missing most of the time.
You may have to click this picture to enlarge to see where he was hiding. At one point he was

laying across this log and I yelled out "what are you doing?" He yelled back, 'sleeping'! LOL

Here is the end result of the work I did. I would have liked to brown her up a bit more after I took off the cheesecloth, but my brother stopped by to see the property and when I went in for the final basting the meat thermometer said "get me out"! I despise dry turkey so when it was ten degree higher than goal I wasn't browning it and risking the breast.

So, don't you think my Souse chef is cute?

Being Grateful

With Thanksgiving tomorrow, it is only appropriate that I have a post about gratitude. Our sermon on Sunday was about Gratitude. To be sure to be grateful to the right source (God), not be selfish or self-righteous in our gratitude.

I am guilty of selfish gratitude alot. My nightly "grats" are usually about ME or my family. I am often not thinking past my own front door. I will try to be grateful for the bounty of others, the safety of others and just in general the good around the world. I will also try to remember to pray for those who have major harships at this time.

As for our plans for tomorrow. My hubby is working and I will try to be grateful for his job and less cranky that he is working. My family is not coming to our new home for Christmas and I will be happy they are safe and not sad they are not coming. I will be thrilled I have a kitchen in which to cook my dinner. I will be grateful when Jay comes home from work and our family is healthy and happy together.

I had purchased all the food for dinner this weekend but didn't buy a turkey because they were all 14+ pounds. The three of us do not need, nor will we eat that much turkey in short enough time. I looked at turkey breasts, but they were way to spendy. I had decided to find a small one today or just have chicken for T'day. We eat bountifully every day and we can't fathom the hunger our forefathers felt and why harvest was such a thankful time, so I could easily be thankful for chicken or even a meatless holiday. God provided, though. My aunt got a turkey from the local churches in mission and then yesterday her boss gave her another turkey. She didn't need two turkeys and she gave me one. I can almost taste it now.

So with gratitude in my heart I say Happy Thanksgiving to all my freinds, both in real life and cyber ones.

Turkey photo stolen from www.marthastewart.com . I used her recipe for the perfect Thanksgiving turkey a few years ago and my husbands employees (to whom I delivered leftovers) tried to get me to open a restaurant. So, three cheers for Martha!

Who went with you this time?

You may remember my post about my 'brave' solo hike in the woods a while ago. Yesterday I did not go alone. I went with my horse "Chai on the Fly". We rode a little over a mile down the road to the neighbors and then had fun on their trails. I love the sound of her hooves in the fallen leaves.

As I rode home up the road, the sun was dipping below the tree lined ridge and I just wish I had taken my camera. I do think we probably would have lost it during one of our gallops through the trails, though.

It was my first real ride since moving and felt great.

I will get a picture of Chai and post it here.

As an aside: I named her "chai" b/c I gave up the drink Chai in order to pay her bills and then I added tne "on the fly" from the www.chaionthefly.blogspot.com I asked her permission and she was happy to say yes! I was thrilled she needed a 'big girl name'.

Okay I admit it...

My name is Chez and I.....

LOVE SQUIRRELS!

This guy or gal has been eating maple seeds outside my shop all week. I will call her she for sake of continuity. SHE jumps a little when I pull up in my car, but sees it is mine (no matter which vehicle) and comes back down and sits. I have been as close as 3 feet from her. I love to watch her play. She sits on the roof of my bird house, she gets IN the empty birdfeed, she hangs upside down, but often just sits around eating like this. They are so cute in the winter with their floofy tails and little 'hands'. I just could watch her for hours. It calms my spirit somehow. I watched her descend the tree today and she PAUSED held on with just her back legs and STRETCHED out like superman trying to fly. I just laughed away at her.

I hope you are a squirrel lover, too. Honestly, I am glad I still have the shop in town, because they are much more leary in the country.

My horse's Anniversary

This week my horse Kismet has been off the race track for two years. Kiz was underweight, angry and very unhappy when he came off the track. He was donated to Friends of Ferdinand and they placed him in a barn where I was taking lessons. I have ridden and had horses most of my life and was learning Dressage. He was a 'train wreck'. He was sore all over, hated people and just wanted to be left alone. I believed there was a sweet horse under all the anger and I was able to get him to let me halter him and take him for 'walks'. Eventually, I was the only one not terrified of him an I began giving him daily 'hand walks' and getting him used to being handled.

The photo below is Kizi a little over a year later with my then 9YO son. Kiz will always distrust people who are around his food, but he is really a doll. I ended up with Kiz just by fate and now that he is in the pasture behind my house where he belongs it just seems RIGHT.

The top photo is the first few weeks off the track and from that angle you can't judge his weight, but notice the difference in the shine on his coat.

This last picture was his first winter during his 'rehandling' time. It took a long time to get him to drop his head and not always have that ready to fight stance. This is one of our first good pictures. It is far from a great picture of me, but who cares with a cute pony on your arm!

As for Kizi and I, we take in other Foster horses from time to time from FFI. None will ever be like Kiz, he was a rare horse. He did not become shy and withdrawn when his back and legs began to hurt, he lashed out at humans and blamed them, maybe rightly so. Since adopting Kiz we have fostered three horses. Ruby lived her final years with us she was one of FFI's horses before they chose to focus on Race horses. Highway Hero a gorgeous grey horse who went on to steal the heart of his new owner in Northern Indiana where he happily totes her around the trails. Unbridled Soldier who just last month found his new home in Chicago and Mr Bartlett who is now becoming a well rounded saddle horse and looking for his new home.

If you have a heart for horses and live around here, lend us a foster home. If you are further away donate to FFI or a charity near you. These race horses give from when they are babies and then they are often 'trash' to the industry, but make great second careers. Before donating locally do your research there are as many 'bad' rescues as good, sadly!

And still more....

Progress, that is!

Just another quick reminder of BEFORE! Bluck bluck bluck!

So, let's start with where we are basically 'done'. Cabinets painted, and hinges back on and I can live here. In a world where I have a few more bucks to spend I am replacing that hood and that little counter segment RIGHT NOW. As it is, I am pretty content with it. The floor will just wait!

Next door let's visit our microwave. I think the white one fits here so much better and when I finally replace the dishwasher below with white it will really be perfect. I love that some of my very fave cookbooks are right here on display. Eventually I will paint my little impromptu shelf white, but I just cut it really quickly and plopped it in place.Here is one of the upper cabinets. Let's pretend for a moment that I don't have some paper plates in here, still in the wrapper and that somehow a kid's toy didn't migrate right there.

All that remains is to finish the doors and front of the bottom cabinets, which is being delayed by me breaking one, having it glued back and then Duncan knocking it off again and breaking it again. So, after that door is reglued and sanded and apinted I can finish the job.

The BAD news just arrived. Fossil took the Roto Rooter thing over to the house and ran it 100 feet and NOTHING. Still have no flushing capacity. I will have to find my home warranty and figure out who can come and fix this thing. I will do my best not to lose my mind over this.

What I do....

Here is what I do when I am not chasing Duncan, riding horses, cleaning house, blogging and all that! I groom dogs!
Here is a cute picture of one of my favorite client dogs. Her name is Gizzie and she is a mix breed and her mom adores her!
All that hair at her feet is HERS and I only wish I had a BEFORE brushing picture to add.
Here she is after! Of course I can see I need to remove styling product from my mirror and she has a sticky outy on her forechest. Pictures are great training aids. When you look at them over time you see what you tend to overlook! :D
Hope you are all doing well and that you are all still praying about that clog!