The Deed Was Done

Warning! There will be few pictures here but the descriptions may be graphic.

We ate Dinner last night. The majority of guests, actually they are family, said it tasted like turkey. In the next few days we'll try to post a story of the processing on the Suburban Sharecroppers blog. Until then I'll share a few highlights. I also have to give thanks to brother-in-law John for his help. We had quite an audience in attendance. I think some couldn't believe we were actually going to perform the deed. The event was documented with two cameras at times.

Dinner was a big bird. The plan was to hang him upside down to calm him and facilitate the bleeding out. After finding a limb strong enough on the pecan tree the area underneath was cleared. With good reason. With a wingspan of over 4 feet, When the neck was cut his 4 feet of wingspan went into overdrive and Dinner was swinging back and forth. So much for calming. After subduing the bird and finding the other vein to speed up the bleeding, he did calm down. He was dead.

Warm water was next and the plucking of the feathers. John did yeoman's work helping with the feathers, and there were plenty of feathers. It didn't take as long as we had been told to pluck the carcass, but there were some pen feathers left that I needed a pair of needle nose pliers to get out later. John also wielded the pruning loppers used to take off the feet (which will be used for stock), the head and the neck later.

The evisceration went smoothly other than the finding all the parts that needed to be removed. The last animal I cleaned was a fish and there isn't too much going on there. The pig I helped with was large and the opening was big. With Dinner the hole was smaller and it was dark in there. At one point I wished I had a headlamp on to get a better look.

After the cleaning was finished the bird was washed and weighed, 40 pounds! We don't/didn't have a pan big enough to fit. We cut the carcass in half, froze one side and cooked the other.

How Did I Get Like I Am

I was recently thinking about a couple of things. Our daughter came home with a story about me from one of her teachers. Fortunately the teacher is a very good friend and we happened to be a roommates for two years in college. He has wisely not told her, nor her brothers, all of the stories he has at his disposal. I was drawn though into a time of reminiscing about college.

I was also thinking of my frugal ways. I wasn't always of such a mind. College changed and formed that. I was thinking of the less expensive ways of doing things, and I concluded I learned many of those habits in college.

I lived on $200-225 a month. For Everything. I shared a "tiny house," before there was such a term, with three others. My double sized mattress took up half of my bedroom, so a roommate, now teacher of my children, and I built platform beds to utilize more of the floor. Maybe that is why there are three built-in platform beds for the children.

The kitchen in this house was also the hallway to the bathroom and two of the bedrooms. If you had a journey to the bath, the person at the sink had to squeeze in to let you pass. The house, though was just part of the frugal ways I learned.

Even 30 years ago $225 wasn't much. I learned the fine art of window shopping and no spending. Goodwill, Salvation Army and used clothing stores could provide a nice wardrobe with selective purchases. Top Ramen, tortillas, cheese and eggs can be arranged in many ways to eat. Wish I had chickens then.

Most of all I realized I didn't need everything I saw. I could, and did, live a wonderful life with little spending. Saving for a twice a month night out to listen to bluegrass was an example of spending in a meaningful way.

Oh what a time.

Dinner is Going to be Dinner

If you have followed the past posts about our flying turkey, Dinner, you probably realize why he was named such. The idea was with the onslaught of all the festivities, it would be nice to have someone else do the deed in a time saving way. We have spent the part of the last few weeks trying to locate a meat locker to process Dinner, but have no takers. The usual response is, "Have fun with that," followed by a chuckle.

Well T-Day is T minus three days and counting. So now brother-in-law John has agreed to help. I find this may be one of those events that is part spectacle, part horror show, part side show and will end up on YouTube sometime.

My question to you all is, Do you have any advice besides run for the hills? I found some help online and have decided on some details, but what tidbits might be helpful for a rookie making turkey dinner?

Three Day Weekend

Another weekend gone, but things did get done. Three day weekends have a special air to them in that the extra day allows time to do something different and still get tasks accomplished. Because of the nature of the different events attended this weekend, I have been a bit reflective.

Friday, the reason for our day off, was Veteran's Day and the local National Guard Armory was renamed for a fallen soldier. It is the first renaming for a CA National Guard soldier that gave the ultimate sacrifice, and is fitting and is supposed to be the beginning a more re-namings. The soldier is Spc. Daniel Unger. I was fortunate to have him in class as a student and on the baseball field as a player.

As we drove home we drove past the ceremony unveiling a statue honoring the soldiers from our town that died in Vietnam. The statue is a replica of the boots, rifle and helmet that symbolizes a fallen soldier.

Saturday as a funeral for a family member, a cousin of my mother's. Got to see many family members, but also community members. This cousin was involved in our small town, so he was well known.

These made me think about mortality more than I should. More though, I thought about the life I'm living now. Seems to be that I am involved in jobs, tasks and events that I don't want to be, isn't good for my family, or isn't preparing us for the future. Interesting thoughts, but not always the best for moving ahead.

What I did do is, as shown in the picture, build an elevated bed in the outside room. This is the third room that I've built an elevated bed. Kind of like a permanent or built-in bunk bed. My daughter reminded me that this trend started when I was in college. Whenever the start, elevated beds make sense to me, especially in a small house. Shelves can be placed or built underneath for storage. That is what we did to help us store more outside.

We also started the winter garden. We cleaned up some garden beds and they got planted today. We cleaned out the chicken coop a bit also. General cleaning up and that is good before the rains.

Also had talks with a workmate about guns, prepping, and overall thoughts about where things are going. His wife is just coming on to the idea that the life we have may not be the life of the future.

Overall a good weekend.

A Reverent Veteran's Day

After a day at the ceremony honoring Spc. Daniel Unger and renaming the Visalia National Guard Armory after him,I can think of no better way to say thank you than how Maureen did here. Daniel was a student and baseball player I had the pleasure of teaching and coaching. He died in Iraq in 2004 leading two Iraqi contractors to cover during a mortar attack.

Another Season Ends

Another sports season is over. 10-10 and 6-6 in league. An average year statistically and otherwise. But, last night the Monarch Girls Water Polo team lost their first round playoff game to Hanford High 9-8 in a thoroughly un-average way. After missed opportunities, strong defense and average offense the Monarchs were faced with a 8-4 deficit for the last quarter. We traded goals to make it 9-5, and with 1:28 left in the game the Hanford coach called time out and made some substitutions. That made the difference.

We scored at :41 left in the game. We stole the ball and scored at :31 in the game. We stole the ball and scored again at :06 to make the score 9-8. On the ensuing play we stole the ball again and called time out with :01.5 left in the game.

The play was drawn up, or at least concocted and explained. The girls lined up in place expectantly. The last pass was passed, then the planned shot was shot and the ball headed towards the goal to hit the bar. And went out.

I've had many exciting moments in sports, both heart-stoppingly disappointing and ecstatically joyous. Last night will make the short list of those moments and memories.

Someday I will be excited.

New Addition, With Subtraction

We have a new addition to the family. We also have a subtraction. After Calvin our German Shepard was put down with ALS, we also lost Pedro the Chihuahua to the farm. With only two dogs we needed another for the 'Zoo.

Enter Khloe the Golden Retriever. A puppy. Just like a baby human, a baby puppy likes attention and is up when she should be sleeping. And unfortunately I've trained her to get up early to be fed and use the facilities outside. And the time change made that one hour earlier.

She is cute, though.