Watering Bracelets

     This is one of my watering bracelets. The idea behind this came from my mother. She needed a reminder that she had the water running in her horse barn. So water wouldn't overflow and make a huge mud mess, her tacky bracelet would remind her that water was running somewhere.
         I use these bracelets on every faucet on my property. The one shown is for the orchard. I have one for the side yard, pond, chicken/duck/livestock area, pool and garden. The idea: you have to put on the bracelet when water is turned on, the replace it on the faucet when you turn off the water. So if you find yourself taking off this bracelet when your going to bed....you have a very large puddle somewhere.
     Although my ducks love me when their pond overflows, I don't love to see the pool gushing out the filter hole. This is a great project for kids. Just use fishing string and a whole assortment of beads. The ugly, blingy, the oh-my-gosh-I-would-never-wear-that beads work great for this.

And yes, even though I have a water timer on the garden water, every once in a while it gets over a hundred here in the summer (almost every day in July, August, & September) and the cukes and zukes need a little something to wet their whistle. Notice, my Rhode Island Red eyeing the bling. After the picture, I had to move it higher than my turkey could jump. Guess it looked a little to good to just sit there.

Happy Watering, you lucky farm

Task Calender

This time of year, I get sent a variety of calenders free in the mail or at local shops. Since I am a die hard Harry Potter fan, I choose to purchase the new year's calender. But, what do I do with all the freebies???   Make a task calender.
Rather than put daily items on this calender, put weekly tasks that happen every month. This is a reminder more than anything. I write a task for a one week every month, and since my work schedule is different every week, it gives me a week to complete the task without the guilt.

Some examples I have on mine:
Clean the floors (this includes mopping my entire tile floor house)
Flea treatments for the dogs (even if the flea aren't present, it makes me check)
Car treatments (wash, check fluids and wipers, tire pressure, etc)
Yard work (there is always something I can do)
Chicken coop (refresh bedding, poop scoop, despur roosters, check general health of my flock)
Garden duty (prep garden beds, plan for season, weed walkways, check irrigation in off season)
Garage duty (because it always seems like a half way house for various items)
Smoke detector checks (every month)
Air filter for the house air conditioning (this happens twice a year, but it's on there)
Ceiling fan cleaning (this happens in November....when all the fans stop moving)
Propane tank check (Spring, getting ready for summer BBQs)
Sprinkler tests (late winter/early spring in anticipation for 100+ degree weather)

The best thing about this system is every month you can see what needs to be done, add unexpected tasks, and get a general idea of the "master to do list". If you have made this year's resolution to be more organized, what a great way to start. I post this calender next to the front door where each family member has a cubby. We can all see it, and we can all choose a task from it. Now if only my kids chose the chicken coop duty more often.....

Happy Planning

Bunuelos

I can remember when I was a kid, my mom used to make little mexican doughnuts on weekend mornings. They were cut from a round cookie cutter and we used a thimble to poke out the center hole. My favorite was the 'holes'.
Although labor intensive, they make for a great weekend treat.

The following recipe comes from a Sunset Mexican Cookbook (1977). This recipe did not appear in later versions of this book. I had to do some serious hunting in thrift stores for my copy.

Bunuelos (fried sweet puffs)

4 eggs
1/4 cup sugar
2 cups flour, unsifted
1 tsp baking powder
1 tsp salt
Oil for frying (350 degrees)
Cinnamon and sugar for the coating (mix together) 1 cup sugar, 1 tsp cinnamon

Mix together eggs and 1/4 cup sugar. Mix with electric mixer (the batter gets thick). Mix dry ingredients and stir in into egg batter. Turn batter onto floured surface and knead until batter is smooth and no longer sticky (it is very stick to start with). Cut into fourths and roll to 1/4" thick. Use cookie cutters to create, but remember that the dough expands, the above picture is of snowflakes...now they are seastars. Once cut, fry in oil, turning once. They cook fast! Set onto towel to drain excess oil. Coat each bunuelo with cinnamon sugar mix and serve.
If sugar mix is put in a ziploc, toss in a few and give to kids to shake.

Enjoy!