So, on Wednesday I went into Huntsville, and I drove the extra way to Costco to get a membership there. Over the weekend, Fred and I read this article in the NY Times and basically what we took away from it was that Costco tests trimmings for E. coli before grinding. Publix and Sam’s, my prior sources for ground beef, do not.
We don’t eat that much ground beef, but we do eat it from time to time, and I’m thinking I’d rather buy it from a source that actually tests for E. coli rather than one that’s all “Test for it? Why would we do THAT?”
Anyway, the Costco is a pain in the ass distance away, but it’s the only one in the area, so I sucked it up, and I drove the extra distance there and got myself a membership card, and then I took a walk through the store.
Hey, guess what? It’s SAM’S CLUB, only they call it COSTCO. I swear to god, almost everything I saw in Costco, I’ve seen in Sam’s. I picked up and considered buying a pack of heads for my Braun toothbrush, but ended up putting it back. I had hoped that the selection of frozen fruit at Costco would be better – or even different – than the selection at Sam’s. Nope – they have the exact same frozen fruit as Sam’s. What the fuck?
Ah well – I suppose it’s good that if I need some non-tainted ground beef, I know where to get it!
did you get the turkeys solely for meat, or do they lay eggs as well? If so, what do turkey eggs taste like?
I was under the impression that we were getting them just to eat, but then Fred started talking about breeding them, so fuck if I know. We haven’t had turkey eggs yet, because they’re still too young to lay, and I don’t know if one is supposed to eat turkey eggs or if they taste too turkey-y, but I imagine I’ll find out sooner or later. If I eat a turkey egg, I’ll certainly report back. Also, we don’t actually know yet whether any of our turkeys are female, so there may be no eggs at all.
Where do George and Gracie go when it’s raining or it’s really cold outside? I know they have heavy coats that provide a lot of protection but do they seek shelter in the chicken coop or what?
Back when we knew we were going to get them, we bought big-ass Dogloos for them. It was an experience fraught with worry and concern – Pyrs get big, so we wanted to be sure to get Dogloos that they’d fit into. I seem to recall Fred actually getting into a Dogloo at one point, but I’m not sure if that really happened. It might be wishful thinking. George and Gracie would have NONE of those damn Dogloos, wouldn’t even consider going in them. Most of the time, they’d sleep out in the middle of the field, but then it got cold and we started getting all that goddamn rain, and George and Gracie would go under the coop to get out of the weather. I couldn’t stand the thought of those poor wee puppies having to slide under the nasty chicken coop (it’s probably not really nasty – not any nastier than the actual chicken yard, anyway), so Fred built a dog house on the back of the chicken coop. It worked well for about ten seconds, they’d sleep in the (very solid, very warm) dog house, which was piled high with straw. Fred would even go out there and lay down in the dog house with them, and they thought that was SUPER FUN. Then, after about two weeks, that was it. No more going into the dog house. They had no desire to go in there, and they refused to go in there, and that was that.
Now, they go under the coop if they’re hot, or if it’s raining, or they just want to. The coop’s open during the day, and they can go in there to get out of the weather. If it’s supposed to rain, we leave the coop open at night, too, so they can go in and keep dry. Most of the time, they seem to prefer going under the coop, though.
Have you guys named any kittens after the characters from Friends yet? (You’ve had so many now that I can’t keep track!)
We haven’t, but I think that’s probably because most of the names have been used before. I’ll have to double-check that!
I’m suddenly struck with the urge to name a foster Chanandler Bong.
I have always been scared of roosters. Do they chase you a lot? Do they seem to sense fear?
Our roosters aren’t aggressive towards us at all – if they were, they wouldn’t be around for long. There’s no room on Crooked Acres for roosters who think they’re in charge. If they showed the slightest bit of aggression toward either of us or someone who came to visit, they’d be next in line for processing.
I’ve had one or two roosters act like they might be up for chasing me around the chicken yard, but I find that turning and looking at them and saying “What are you doing, fucko?” stops that bullshit right away. And if you don’t run, they can’t chase you. 🙂
Is Floofy Gus going to be a longhair?
I think so – and won’t he be gorgeous when he’s full-grown with that long hair floofed all over the place?
I wonder if next time instead of roasted asshole, you could make asshole nuggets? Or asshole fingers? With Dippin’ sauce! 🙂
Mmm, asshole nuggets. That sounds tasty!
Do you watch Food Network? Do you hate “Cooking for Real” as much as I do? That show is worthless, and I’m sick of the host’s wig. She makes nothing worthwhile, and name-drops every five seconds. EUGH!
I don’t watch Food Network, and in fact I’m not even sure if it’s one of the channels we get. But I’ll tell you what – you certainly do make me want to check out that show!
So you and Fred don’t watch The Amazing Race anymore? I still enjoy it, the only reality series that has kept my interest over the years. I gave up on Survivor a couple seasons ago.
No, we missed the first episode of this season, and then part of the second, and then Fred said “You know? I just don’t really care.” and I said “Me either.” and so we stopped recording the show. I think we might be getting close to reality TV’d out. We haven’t even turned the TV on since… Sunday, I think? We’ve been spending our evenings reading.
I missed the chicks in a jar, but that’s because I was busy trying to figure out what the things are on the top left. Is that dehydrated zucchini chips? And is that mushrooms next to them?
Yeah, to the left are dehydrated zucchini chips, then mushrooms (I buy the big-ass can of mushrooms at Sam’s, then re-can them), and then cinnamon pickles, yellow squash pickles, and some other kind of pickles. I put up a lot of pickles, considering we rarely eat them.
Ok, so when I saw the line “I like pumpkin in pumpkin pie, and that’s about the only place I like it”, the FIRST thing I thought of was, “I mean, I like cheese….just not on a salad.” And then I laughed and laughed some more…..
I also do not like pumpkin on a salad… or a burger!
You and Fred are coming very close to what we Alaskans call the subsistence lifestyle. You produce your own meat and veggies, now if you could just make your own kitty litter…
If I could make my own kitty litter, I would be thrilled beyond belief. Imagine how much money I’d save!
Any chance of one of those turkeys making it to your table come November 26th?
No, they won’t be big enough by then. We’ll have to think ahead for next year!
The True Bloods accompanied the Wonkas and I to the vet yesterday. They (the True Bloods) were due for their last vaccinations, and since I was headed that way, anyway, what better time?
They did not enjoy the ride. Hoyt, in particular, complained all the way there and all the way back. He has such a distinctive voice, and he always makes me laugh when he starts up.
They got their vaccinations, and when we got home, they crashed for the rest of the day. This morning, they’re back to their wild ways. I love how quickly they recover.
I’m thinking, one more kitten tries to squeeze in that bed, it’ll explode.
Lafayette. This boy cracks me UP. See the sutures sticking out from either side of his mouth? They look like jaunty whiskers (don’t worry, I trim them if I think they’re going to be a problem. The sutures, that is, not his whiskers!)
I show you this picture so you can see the wonkiness of Terry’s paw. Doesn’t it look like a mitten?
I bought a FroliCat BOLT Laser Cat Toy after seeing an ad for it in Cat Fancy magazine. We have a laser toy that I bought at PetSmart a while back, but it just moves the laser around and around in the same circle, and the cats get bored with it fairly quickly. When I saw that the BOLT does the laser in random patterns, I knew I had to give it a try. The kittens LOVE it. Well, all except for Sam. Notice that everyone else is like “Where did it go? WHERE DID IT GO?!” and Sam’s like “Oh, a tasty gray tail for me to chomp on!”
Lafayette’s staring hopefully up at the wall, and Terry’s leaping across the floor.
Sugarbutt says “I don’t know what they’re doing, but I don’t think I approve.” (I love how they’re all lined up, staring up at the wall.)
Playtime’s over, now it’s time to nap. This must have been one of the days when I was in the kitchen all day making jam. I love that Sam and Elwood are curled up together in a box that my canning jars came in, and Jake’s under the canning cabinet (which I use as a pantry), all “This is MY bed. Why do I gotta SHARE?”
Okay, so. The Wonkas were Combo tested at the vet’s yesterday. They came up negative for Feline Leukemia – but positive for FIV.
Since they’re so young and (according to what I’ve read) it’s unusual for an FIV positive mother to pass FIV to her babies, I am confident that when they’re retested in 60 days, they’ll come up negative.
What sucks is that since they’re positive, they have to remain segregated from the other cats. I had hoped that after they hit two pounds and were spayed and neutered, that we could let them out into the rest of the house. That can’t happen, because we can’t take the chance that they’ll get into a spat (or even a play fight) with the other cats and pass along the FIV.
I’m going to stick my head in the sand, here, and believe 100% that they’ll come up negative when they’re retested in December. I won’t even consider any other outcome. They’ll be my own personal Christmas miracles!
So, they’re going to come up negative, I just know it, and in the meantime I get a little more time to love and snuggle with them. What a hardship for me!
“WE IS TRYING TO SLEEP!”
::thlurrrrp::
Who is the smarty pants who figured out how to get up on the bed? Who who who? Why, smarty pants Mike Teevee, of course! He was SO proud of himself! (Do not be fooled by this picture – he looks all long and lanky like a real cat, but in actuality he’s really a round little ball of floof.)
“HELLEW. You has a snack for me?”
Previously
2008: This is such an appetizing topic, isn’t it? I draw you in with talk of clam chowder and quiche and then hit you with litter box talk.
2007: Further proof, in case you needed it, that I’m a dumbass.
2006: No entry.
2005: No entry.
2004: No entry.
2003: I’ve SEEN Deliverance, and I have no desire to be forced to squeal like a pig.
2002: Well, duh.
2001: No entry.
2000: We like our fast food, we do.