Typical Tuesday?

 Ever wonder what a typical day is like around here? Well, this turned out to be a pretty average day.


9:45 a.m.

A Tamworth gilt (young female)

I came into the house with the goat milk from this morning's milking half an hour ago. (We milk at 8 a.m. and 8 p.m.) It was about a gallon, and when I realized there were already two gallons of milk in the frig, I decided to procrastinate by checking Facebook. What should I make with all that milk? Then I heard one of the llamas sounding the alarm. It sounds like a whinnying caw that should come from a pterodactyl, so it definitely gets your attention! I glanced out the window and didn't see anything obvious, so figured it wasn't anything important. But then I heard it again . . . and again. All five llamas in the west pastures were staring to the north. Then all the goats lined up like kids in a schoolyard watching a fight. Something was definitely not right. I slipped on my shoes and ran out to the barn pasture, which is north of where the goats and llamas live. Pigs? Yes, all six pigs were running around in the barn pasture. They're supposed to be in the walnut grove. Mike and Jonathan take care of the pigs, and based on the stories they've told, I really don't want to be on the same side of the fence with this group of pigs, so I'm just going to wait until Jonathan gets home from work around noon, and I'll let him deal with it. I have to make cheese or something. The worst thing they can do is root up the pasture a little. Right?

12:15 p.m.
I was in the middle of making queso blanco and tapioca pudding when I remembered that I had to get a form filled out and emailed to a Milwaukee television station. Thursday, I'm going to be on The Morning Blend, which is a typical morning talk show. I'm going to be talking about zucchini and other summer squash and how to use it, and I'll be doing a stir-fry on the air. My info sheet was due at noon, so I ran in here to fill it out and email it back to them. I'm sad to say that if my fingers touch the keyboard, I also have to check email and Facebook . . . sigh. Now that it's done, I'm heading back to the kitchen to play with squash and time myself doing a stir-fry. I'll only have five minutes Thursday!

2:00 p.m.
I've decided it would be a bad idea to do a squash stir fry on live television if there are hot peppers in the stir fry. I accidentally inhaled some fumes and started hacking and gasping. Jonathan said it might be a good idea to do it anyway, and I could become an Internet sensation as people forward the video and it becomes viral. I don't think so. After eating the squash, I decided to check email before trying another squash recipe that is less deadly. It took me half an hour to respond to a question about dewormers. I need to write up something about that and put it on my website, because it's a common question. And then I received an email back from the Morning Blend producer. Apparently I forgot to attach my guest sheet to my email. How embarrassing. So, I re-sent that email with the attachment. Now I need to get back into the kitchen and try another squash recipe. The one with peppers also took too long. I need something that will cook up in less than five minutes! Jonathan got home from work and already left to run errands, and I forgot to tell him about the pigs . . . sigh.

Patty pan, lemon squash, and golden zucchini
with basil chiffonade and garlic

3:00
I decided to take a power nap-meditation before continuing with my squash experiments. Yes, I nap almost every day, although I don't really sleep. It's more of a meditation for about fifteen minutes, and then my battery is completely recharged. I tried another squash recipe. This one used basil and garlic. No coughing and gasping, but I need to work on my chiffonade skills. Now I know how to use up all the squash in the garden -- get myself on a morning show and then practice cooking it for two days!

4:35 p.m.
I had no idea I could get so stuffed eating only summer squash and drinking a smoothie (yogurt, banana, frozen strawberries, banana). It's been an hour since finishing the last squash, and I still feel uncomfortably full. I answered more emails and made a vet appointment for goats to get health certificates tomorrow. (Goats crossing state lines must have health papers, and soon I'll have one going to Tennessee and another to Missouri.) I watched a few clips from The Morning Blend to see what their kitchen looks like, so I could be better prepared. Looking at my to-do list -- do I make sugar scrub to fill the two orders that I have, or do I go to the garden to pick vegetables? Both must be done today, but it's easier to pick veggies when the sun is up, and it's only 83 out now, which is tolerable.

10 p.m.
I never got the sugar scrub done. I picked five buckets of tomatoes, which are sitting in the sink. I had hoped to get them blanched and in freezer bags tonight, but it will just have to wait until morning. I also picked five cucumbers and our first eggplant of the year. I should have picked okra but didn't get to it. It was nearly sundown, so it was time to milk the goats again. After milking, I checked on Pearl, a yearling doe who was terribly anemic and weak Saturday. I put her in one of the kidding pens by herself, so I could take care of her, and she is making an incredibly recovery! I came inside and threw together another squash stir-fry. This one had an oriental theme with soy sauce, ginger, and garlic. Finally sat down for dinner at 9:05. I had the tapioca pudding for dessert, which was ugly and had a weird texture to it. It had whipped egg whites in it, which sounded good, but it wasn't. I really should stick to the tried-and-true recipes, but when I see something that looks good, I just have to try it. Mike and Jonathan talked about the pigs. Jonathan said two of them got out yesterday also, but they followed him right back to the walnut grove, so it's not a big problem.

Tomorrow will start early, because I have to have the goats at the vet by 9:30. I'm thinking I should be milking by 7:00, which means getting up and fixing breakfast by about 6:15. I still need to shower before going to bed. One of the odd things about country living is that you normally shower before bed, rather than when getting up, because you're so dirty by the end of the day that you can't stand the thought of putting your dirty self in between clean sheets. I'm one of those people who really needs my eight hours, but it doesn't look like it's going to happen tonight.