Clayton Hill Studio

Posted on March 12, 2023 by claytonhill

Spring Fever …

Oh, I’ve got it … HUGE! Which makes me bored, which means I’m scouring the internet and discovering cool stuff!

Like Lions Mane mushrooms – what? They’re supposed to taste like crab meat or lobster when cooked, so that’s just what we did: On the plate pictured on the left, we have one uncooked freeze dried Lions Mane, followed by some pan fried slices and finally a Lions Mane Cake (kind of like crab cakes) … They’re pretty good! I’ve also purchased a couple of DIY kits (no photo yet) for growing white button mushrooms and some of my own Lions Mane… Neat!

And the freeze dried mushrooms made me curious about all things freeze dried, so I made another purchase – to see how we liked the products. We do …

This started a huge back and forth with DH. I wanted to buy a freeze dryer to preserve foods, without taking up freezer space (as we have 4 freezers and they are full) … Yes, it’s pricey but for creating long term storage while preventing food wastage … We bought a Harvest Right! Happy Valentines to me! Winking smile Our first load was frozen sliced fruit, with great success. Then we tried oranges, sliced lemons and apples. Turns out we are not a fan of the oranges (tart and the skin turns weird).

But we love the watermelon and avocado (no more losing avocados!)! The avocados reconstitute for pudding quite nicely! We also ran a load with root vegetable slices, mushrooms and shredded cheese. Again, preventing food waste! I love it!!!

Oh, and then the candy … Yum! Salt water taffy, Charleston Chews and Skittles, oh my goodness! Before and after freeze drying …

We also added mason jar storage in the laundry/FD room – cute, eh? I can see I will need more jars! Smile

Which brings us to this week, we’re adding to our chicken flock. Meet Misty and Gemma (our Mystique Maran and Sapphire Gem). We will also be adding an Olive Egger, Easter Egger and another Isa Brown, as we lost our Buffy in early February. AND … Kunekune pigs! Meet Nay Nay and Kronk, our 5 month old pigs! How FUN!!! In 10 days time, we will be picking up turkeys, 4 of them to grow in our corn crib, or ‘Aviary’, as we call it. Look at my little farm grow!!!

I’ll be prepping garden starts in my big window in the studio soon. And, somewhere through it all, I figured cellulitis round 5 would be a fun idea?!? We’re beating it back with antibiotics, but geeze, it slows me down for a while and I don’t like that!

Come on Spring! Be safe y’all … Smile

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Posted on January 2, 2023 by claytonhill

Goodbye 2022 …

So, I have a few photos to share (not as many as I should have recorded, but …). As is our tradition, DH and I made Candied Pecans and (no photo) Chex Mix that we give to everyone we see on Christmas Eve and Christmas Day …

I also made gift card holders for cash and well … gift cards! Smile

Our boys both made it from out of state (TX and DC) to celebrate this year. Our oldest hosted Christmas morning again. So, DH and I, feeling the pressure of prepping presents and menus, as I continue adjusting to my day walker job*. Well, we were running out of time. This year’s theme was ‘tissue paper Christmas’. We wrapped all the gifts in tissue paper, then put them all in a big box for each person, and we wrapped that single box in pretty wrapping paper. It worked.

We celebrated our Christmas in the afternoon, and were so over wrapping that we presented our gifts to each other in BOXES. Here is our 2022 Christmas tree photo … DOH!

And, I realized we forgot to bring our granddog’s gift to our daughter’s house. Sorry, Gambit – it’s waiting for you ….

I had a fair amount of time off work for Christmas and New Years, which was fortunate, as I [apparently] chose to ring in the new year with Abdominal Cellulitis round 3 (or is it 4???) … I slept a lot, in between fever/chill episodes, and unpleasant abdominal pains. I’m feeling better and made some Winter/Christmas cards and sorted/organized the paper crafting portion of my studio.

DH gifted me with a water softener for the studio (it has a shower in the bathroom, which has not been used as a shower since we broke down the 1970’s trailer we lived in while building our house. Yes – that was 20 years ago …). However, since I’ve set up an office in the studio for my work (HIPPA protected), I’m spending more time in the studio. So, now I have softened water for the shower and the kitchen. Yay! (No photos)

*I’m starting week 5 of orientation for my job. I will be working with my preceptor tomorrow, attending house-call urgent visits with him for the first time. The last four weeks have involved a lot of tech set up, zoom meetings, policy and procedure learning, along with Urgentivist Extender (my role) computer learning, As it was 99% remote learning (at home), it was a tad stressful, verifying that I was completing all the training required. I was, and I’m feeling more confident, but also glad that I will finally be doing ‘the job’!

So, now for 2023. I’m excited to see what the New Year brings. I’m looking forward to my nursing role within my community. I’m trying to appreciate this season of time (winter), while I look forward to spring with seed-starting and garden planning. I’m ready to start our second year of indoor gardening with our hydroponic system. And, I am so ready for the days to get longer …

As a mom to four adult children, I am so proud of our kids. This year marks a giant step for them as they move forward with adult financial security! We’ve added some wonderful new members to our family (significant others), and I’m looking forward to spending more time with them, getting to know them better.

HAPPY NEW YEAR’S Y’ALL!!!

Beautiful Animated Happy New Year 2023 GIF Images | SuperbWishes

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Posted on December 10, 2022 by claytonhill

Update & a Promise …

I promise to do better! But here’s the photo journey/update since my last post:

DH bought a 16 foot corn crib, brought it home and set it up. Why? Because it’s neat, and I think we will use it next spring to raise turkeys.

Speaking of birds, we raised and processed six meat birds (Cornish Cross chickens) this fall. I feel like we’ve got the hang of it now (our second year).

And, we added two Guinea fowl to our laying (chicken) coop. I’m pretty sure we have a male and a female, so we’ve named them Bacon and Eggs, as the male has long ‘bacon chunks’ growing from his beak/wattle area – and the female should lay eggs – once they reach 9 months old. It’s interesting and fun to watch the chickens and guineas interact with each other.

We’ve had a few litters of bunnies recently, so the hutch is overflowing. We have come to appreciate the term ‘breed like rabbits’ and are taking steps to slow that process down, as we have 23 new babies now … DOH!

I’ve done some cooking. We made Chicken Noodle Soup with homemade noodles. We also made a large batch of Seafood Chowder (here is a pic of just a bowl of the soup).

And, we had our Thanksgiving meal, with bacon-wrapped herb-buttered turkey, two pans of Apple Whiskey Stuffing, along with all the usual’s (mashed potatoes, biscuits, gravy, squash, and pies). Our girls came over (along with my son-in-law), and my mother- and sister-in-laws. Both of our boys are currently out of state with work training/school, so we talked with them on the day. It was a great meal and a great day!

I made pillows for my sister’s she-shed office (next to her goats). While I don’t have a photo of the office, we’ve had some fun decorating the space.

We continue to raise and play with our Neo and Bulldog puppies … AWWWW!!!

I had my first-ever studio glass class with a family (of NINE!). They made jewelry, ornaments, plates and night lights. It was fun and worked out well. I’m seriously considering offering a few more classes this year … we’ll see. But for now, I have a clean studio to dig into my own Christmas projects for the season… Yay!!!

And, finally … I started a new job. I’m working for an insurance company, providing in-home urgent care visits – treating or sending to the ER, as appropriate. Week one and the next few are all about the training: Setting up my work office space (in the studio) and work computer/monitors. Learning the programs, processes and EMR training for documentation of visits. I have the first week under my belt and am feeling a bit more confident with all that I’ve learned and moving forward. For the first time in 18 years, I’ll be working days (9A-530P), so that is an adjustment as well. But, I like it!

So yeah … that catches us up on my tinkering/news, with just over 2 weeks to go until Christmas! Doh!!! It’s all good … Be safe, y’all!

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Posted on October 20, 2022 by claytonhill

Fall Update …

Our bulldog puppies: Patchouli, Bergamot, Lil Wayne and Claudia … awwww! They are 3 weeks old and too stinkin’ cute! They play and wrestle with each other and are realizing there is more going on outside of their (pool) box.

We closed our garden down and pulled our last vegetables, herbs and flower harvest. I have ordered my birthday present, so … nothing to do but wait for February to start seeds and eventual greenhouse gardening.

I’ve completed a couple of Christmas dot designs. I like them …

And, not to be left out of hobby farming, my city-girl sister recently brought home 1 yr old miniature fainting goats …Now, I want goats!!! Smile

Love and peace, y’all! Winking smile

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Posted on September 28, 2022 by claytonhill

We bought a thing …

Yep – a 5th wheel camper. It’s beautiful and I love it! Here are a few pictures. We have some plans for this home-on-wheels … but we’ll get into that another day.

Linda had her babies yesterday … four gorgeous new additions. So far she is settling into motherhood well, and likes her extra calories (yogurt, ice cream, chicken livers, etc.)… Smile

More photos to come!!!

Hugs Y’all!

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Posted on September 22, 2022 by claytonhill

Meat Party – Take 2…

Yep … this time it was lasagna, ribs and BBQ rabbit. Plus whatever sides I finally decided on. We had my grandpa, uncle, my mother in law, and our youngest baby out for dinner. Our boy will be leaving for additional USAF training in Texas soon, and will be gone for almost a year! It was time to cook the favorites! Winking smile And now I can say all of my family has tried rabbit. They like it!

Meanwhile, I’m learning all about chicory and roasting and decaf coffee alternatives. You’re welcome, DH!

This is chicory … you will find it in almost every non-manicured yard, especially in Michigan. It’s roots are roasted and ground, then added to coffee for a 50/50 decaf drink. We love it … so I’m making it!

I’ve also decided to join this decade. I’ve updated my resume, complete with profile pic, hobbies and astrological sign (OK – I may be kidding about one of those) … I hope to have a job interview or two soon.

I played in the studio – made a card. I like it.

Somewhere along the way, I decided abdominal cellulitis v3.0 would be the way to go … But, I’m beating back with oral antibiotics!

And Miss Linda Blue, my chunky monkey will be having babies soon. Arrrggghh! I’m so excited!

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Posted on September 5, 2022 by claytonhill

Still Kicking …

We had family out to celebrate birthdays at what I lovingly referred to as the ‘Meat Party’ … We served beef ribs, homegrown chicken and rabbit … Doh! (Along with many, many sides…) I decorated with zinnias from my garden.

Speaking of which, that garden is still producing! I’m pretty sure I will end with 10 gallons of tomatoes before summer is over. We continue to harvest beans, and now we have watermelon. Along with one lone sunflower, as ‘critters’ ate the other seeds right out of the pots!

I wrapped up a ‘dot’ project (diamond painting) and my sister gave me a GINORMOUS one 45×85 cm (… which is almost 18 x34 inches)! I plan to have it on display at my funeral some day (no photo yet – I’m too young) …

DH sanded and refinished the floors with a bit of help (thank you Mason and Josh!). They look great and we are STILL moving furniture and tchotchkes back.

Finally, we picked up some peepers (six Cornish X chickens [SKOS – first mentioned HERE] and a couple of guinea fowl). It will be interesting to see what we decide to do with the guineas as the weather turns … but we have them!!! Doh!

Love and hugs Y’all! Winking smile

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Posted on August 14, 2022 by claytonhill

Because I Knew …

I knew I needed a tetanus shot, so OBVIOUSLY the best way to get that is to swan dive out of one’s pool to perform a [9.3 … 9.1 …9.6 … 9.2 … 9.4 – the judges have scored …] FACE-PLANT onto a cement paver outside of said pool. Yep, that tetanus shot was mine, ALL MINE! [Yes, that was a wee few hours after my last post … here is a photo of happy me, in my anniversary tiara, just minutes before …]

Now all up to date on my immunizations, I am sporting an incredibly sexy burger stamp on my forehead, along with two quite colorful eyes …. Oh and that magical eyeshadow is just starting! I have a rainbow of shades to go through … AWWW!

So, yeah … I knew. Just like I know I’m having family out later this week to celebrate birthdays. Because timing is EVERYTHING!!! Oh Y’all …. just DOH!

What do you think of this look … Too OBVIOUS???

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Posted on August 11, 2022 by claytonhill

Anniversary Day

Yep, 32 years of wedded bliss. Smile

We’ve been enjoying pool days just about every day. Our garden continues to amaze with cucumbers (- look at that cucumber!), tomatoes, zucchini, patty pans, herbs (basil, sage and mint), beans and NOODLE BEANS … yep, we tried those for the first (successful) time this year.

I’ve finished up a couple of ‘dot’ projects … Here is one that I had to frame, as I love it!

Had dinner with the high school girls last week. I’m happy to report we are all well and aging gracefully. Smile I’m making goat milk lotion now, and gave some to the ladies. It smells so good!

We cooked up a teryaki rabbit recipe. Very yummy. We’re having family out next week, so we’ll be serving home grown chicken (SKOS) and rabbit, along with home grown veggies … and a few store made things, like cake!

We went fishing in our pond yesterday and for the first time ever, caught some fishes … bullhead catfish and some kind of giant minnow-looking thing, along with a painter turtle. All went back into the pond to grow and thrive … [No photos of our fishing, but here is the DH ‘Sharky’ 32 year anniversary gift]

Leaving with a photo of me playing with some CRAZY artificial lashes … Happy DAY Y’all!

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Posted on July 22, 2022 by claytonhill

Summertime 2022

I know – it’s been a bit. But I am alive and kicking, and enjoying summer pool time, along with Chloe …

So, to hit some highlights over the last few months:

Our oldest son graduated from law school, and is presently in VA for tax law. Our youngest (the twins) turned 25, and we celebrated at our favorite Japanese steakhouse (no photo) …

Our garden is rocking! Two words – BUNNY Pooh (compost) … Oh my goodness!!!

Sangria/swamp juice 2022 – the magical drink no longer requires any kind of written recipe and is SOOOO good!

I continue to play with recipes and incorporate yard plants/homeopathic treatments when possible …. So this is mullein, and we made a lovely Mullein Strawberry Ginger tea. DH says he might just like it.