Mother

That would be great Annarchy. It's so wonderful to have you get along so well with your MIL. I loved mine dearly too. I hope she has as much fun with this as we all do.

Waitin' for more. ''

This is absolutely WONDERFUL. Would that, by any chance, have been her list IRL? I am really looking forward to our newest members!!!

I CAN'T believe that happened. (Please Lord, not IRL though I suspect it could have happened)

It took us almost five minutes of coaxing to get MtR to let go of those reins and only then when Mr.MtR came to take the now penitent MM from her. Then of course, there was no way of getting her up with those MS muscles wanting to lock in place so the guys just picked her up and carried her back to her tent where she SHOULD have been to begin with....but of coure, she couldn't have let MM running lose either. Dumb Donkey!!

Thankfully, when I checked on MtR a bit later Mr.MtR said she was sleeping, something she is going to need VERY much. We still aren't sure if she has any injuries yet but He's checked her over and says for now sleep will be the best. Then they'll see what more needs to be done. She's at least not bleeding and is breathing and able to rest. I hope we know more this morning how she's doing.

I also went out and checked MM and she doesn't seem to be any worse for the wear, chomping contentedly in a small paddock attached to the barn until we find out how she got out of the pasture.

She sure caused enough ruckus AND work. Those of us who had clothes on the line had to rewash almost every thing there and that red blouse well it didn't look all that bad on MM's ear.

There are clothes on the line yet as I wander this morning. I wanted to look over the house with the possibility that our son and his family and In-laws might be coming to live in it in the next couple of months. We had hoped they would have come with us but they stayed behind to help her family. If it's possible for them to get this far....well we'll cross that bridge later.

I want to check on MM and the rest of the animals this morning and get back to the wagon. Mom and I are going to make a big Sunday morning breakfast. Canned venison sausage and gravy, Buttermilk biscuits, jelly, rehydrated dried fruit and whatever else we can scarce up. No eggs this morning as the chickens just don't seem to be cooperating and we only got a few the last couple of days.

Does anyone know if there is going to be a Sunday service this morning? I wasn't sure if the Gee's were up to it or not. Perhaps we can have some singing around the fire tonight if not.

We have a week of rough travel ahead of us and then there are those "Little Ditches: that I really am not looking forward to. Some time today I want to make sure that things are more secure inside the wagons and that anything tied on the outside is as well.

Yes Sasha, I know you want to go back to the wagon but we have to check on the animals first, you don't have to keep slobbering all over my hand. Come on girl, you like MM don't you? No, you really don't do you? That's okay, I won't let the big bad donkey hurt you. Besides, Mt.R has already determined that MM is going to be Donkey Burgers. Maybe she'll give you one.

and have a wonderful Sunday everyone.

Hey, it looks like everyone is getting up and busy this morning. Morning Q, Annarchy, Mt.R...

MT.R wow, GOOD to see you up and about. Isn't it great about Annarchy's MIL joining us. I can't wait to meet her.

I've been thinking about the supplies and etc we're supposed to be getting. If we've spread a rumor that we have broken up the wagon train and are each headed home, will the mayor's wife still send things? Can she be trusted if she's told we're going to try to move on but are just trying to avoid publicity? Everyone thinks we are some sort of 'reenactment' reality show thing. Wouldn't we have wanted publicity? Sorry, I couldn't sleep much last night again. That nasty mental chatter just kept me awake .

Either way, I agree with you about our 'shopping' days coming to an end. I just ran into Mr. Hughes coming back with one of the ranch hands and he mentioned that I should pass the word that they have found a way to go cross country to the Rockin' J. He mentioned that it would be a rough ride so we'd best be prepared for some bumping around. He also mentioned a couple of "little ditches" too. I could have done without that information. I'm glad that our family was able to order supplies a couple of weeks ago to be delivered to the last Post office. That will really help us through the wilderness leg of our journey and the first couple of months in the valley. I can make-do with what we have for baking and such the next week or so and I know there are going to be a lot of greens in the surrounding area here but it's the fresh fruit and veggies that I miss the most. I'm already tired of 'instant' potatoes and dehydrated fruits.

Hey Q, you look busy this morning. My gang is working on laundry as well. I saw a couple of clothesline poles with some lines behind the house. There looks like plenty of room. Why not hang some of your clothes back there? We're going to. This is a pretty cool place though I didn't get to do more than just a glance around.

Hey someone mentioned cell phones. We've been able to keep ours charged with our small 12 volt system with a car charger. If anyone has one and wants it charged just bring it to our GS. He'll be glad to do it for you. It will make him feel useful, as he's still not getting along well on that leg. The service here is a bit sketchy though.

Ummm, Mt.R, Can I have a minute or three to chat. Thanks, maybe you'll walk out with me to check the stock. Gosh it's pretty out here.

DD finally got a call out just a few minutes ago to check on our DS3 back home. Last time we talked with him, he and his In-laws were getting their things together to join us but probably wasn't going to be ready to go for another couple months. At that time we didn't know where to tell them to meet us but I talked with the rancher who owns this farm early this morning and he's agreed to let them come stay here and will help them all he can. I didn't know if the farmer knew what was up with the wagon train so I just said they were looking for a place out of town. He said they could have their things shipped here before hand and he’ll see they are safe until they get here.

The problem is going to be getting wagons for their final leg. There just are not that many out there now. If the family gets here too late in the year, It might be such a thing that they will have to stay here for the winter and then pack into the valley with horses next spring. His children range in age from 11 to 6 months so I'm not sure how they would do on horseback that distance, but they might have no choice. Anyway, we most likely won't have cell phone service long out here so I was wondering what to do about getting our coordinates to them so they could find us. Do you think that it would be okay to at least give him the name of the Rockin' J or would it be better if I just asked the Rockin'J owners to keep an eye out for them? I was hoping that you could talk to Mr.S about it for me. You will, great. We're going to try to contact him one more time before we get too far out and otherwise I guess we'll write him and send it from the last PO.

(Mother wipes a tear and hugs Mt.R) It was really hard to leave them behind but it's even harder to know that they are going to try to get here and yet we may never know if they made it.

Well, I guess I'd better get to work. Despite one of the cows being injured and having been on the trail for weeks, they are still giving a lot of milk. Plus there's still some coming from the Nigerians too even after feeding the kids but I've been giving that to CGA to use. I'm going to make Vinegar cheese this morning, seeing that we have plenty of water from the well for cooling it and washing up. It takes a whole lot less work than regular cheese and I can either use it like ricotta or I can make it into cheese curds. The left over whey will be great for the animals too or maybe we'll use it to do some baking while we have a nice fire.

I do a lot of writing IRL but this is the most fun I've had with it in a long time. It's such a challenge to play off each other and still keep within the loose story line. Everyone is doing SUCH a wonderful job.

I'm hoping our missing members will be back soon too. I sure have missed their posts.

Annarchy, I can't wait to see how you incorporate your MIL. And I'm hoping you enjoy having your MIL with you IRL.

Well the guards are still out yet I see. Good morning, how did the night go? Quiet? That's good. It's sure quiet in camp too. I guess rolling in after dark and trying to set up camp last night was a real challenge. We'll probably have coffee on soon if you want some. I'm just going to take a look at the animals first and maybe a look around.

Morning Michael.

I knew he would be up early. He always is. At least I can see what our "hide out" looks like in the morning light. I was in the big old barn last night with the animals but it sure looks "tentative' this morning. I guess, though, if it's stood for all these years it's going to hold up another couple of days. It also had some fairly good straw in it that we used to bed the most injured of the animals. The big stock trailer was here before we arrived and getting the animals settled was a pretty big undertaking. I'm just grateful that Michael and Lori had the fences all checked out before we got here or we'd have been having to do that after dark too or risk one of the animals getting hurt on broken fence. The teams and other animals look pretty content out there grazing on the new spring grass.

It's pretty out here, in a rustic sort of way. It would make a great picture. I wonder if Annarchy will have time to do some drawings. The old farmhouse looks in good shape and almost as if someone lived in it recently. There are still gingham-checked curtains at the window. I won't go in now but I'd sure like to explore it before we leave.

That was some trek last night. I wasn't even sure I wanted to crawl back onto that wagon and pick up those reins. I was so worried about being able to handle the horses after they had been so spooked and the gelding injured. I was afraid he wouldn't be well enough to put in the traces but I was surprised at how well he did. I couldn't see well in the dark last night but I want to check his wounds this morning to make sure none were rubbed raw again by the harness. I also thought it would be a bigger problem driving them at night than it was. All the teams just seemed to follow the ones in front.

I believe the only time any of us had real trouble was coming through that big gully. I REALLY dislike those 'Little Ditches" as everyone else but me calls them. I can't imagine what it will be like when we get into hills and mountain country. That sure seems like where we are headed eventually. Oh well, I did okay with them last night.

I kept thinking of the big swatch of tracks we were leaving behind in the grass. If anyone really wants to find us I'm sure they can but I have a suspicion that we are far enough off the beaten path that few people are going to be coming to look for us. It will be nice to have peace and quiet after all the weeks of being in the public eye most days. We are all surrounded by trees here and that creek going through the pasture means we don't have to haul water for the animals. Nice place to give the animals a couple day's rest but from what I learned from the town's people who helped us with the meat, we better not stay any longer than we have to. It sounds like the world, as we knew it, is about to fall completely apart. But then, we knew that and that's why we are here. I can't help but think of my family back in all that mess.

Well, I can't set out here all morning letting my mind wander. I see Michael has the fire going, coffee most likely too. I'll go see what I can do about getting some coffee for the guards before I start the milking.

What a relief. Michael and Lori are fine. There has been a terrible mix up with a message that was supposed to be given to us.

They went to look at an abandoned farm that they were told about. Once there they found it would be perfect for us to camp out at and lay over for a day or two rest where we weren't going to be bothered by outsiders. As they were checking things out there the rancher stopped by to see how things looked. He agreed that it would be a fine place for us and Michael and Lori asked him if he would go back and let the wagon train know. They wanted to stay there until we got there to mend a few fences to make them secure for our animals.

The rancher was on his way to tell us when one of his ranch hands stopped him to tell him about an emergency at the Ranch and as it was an injury to one of his family he rushed off to the ranch and completely forgot the message he was to give until just recently when he stopped out there to see if we'd made it okay. He thought he'd told his ranch hands to bring us the message and he hadn't. Just one big mix up. He said that Michael and Lori hadn't really expected us to get on the road until this morning but as we were so late, they were just getting ready to come back to see what the hold up was when the rancher showed up.

So people, It looks like we're going to get on the road in a matter of an hour. I know it's late in the day but this place is not all that far and it's got fresh pasture. The benefactors it best if we leave now to try to avoid observation. We should be able to make it before or just after dark. The rancher is bringing his stock trailer to haul some of the animals that need to rest yet and he'll have extra teams and drivers to help us too.

The dputies have been asked to keep all outsiders well away from the area and if we're lucky, out of sight out of mind will be for the best. Not sure how we're going to cover the trail of so many wagons and animals but at least this is deeper into private land.

Let's get packed and start hitching.

WAGONS HO!

( Sorry,,, I always WANTED to say that.) (can you tell that Mother is being silly because she's so relieved that Michael and Lori are both okay?)

It has been a very worrisome day so far. Still no word about Michael and Lori. We've sent out several people looking for them but it seems they have just disappeared. We are now debating on calling in the sheriff.

More bad news is that I've been checking with the different families and am finding that our food supplies, other than an abundance of beef, are running a bit low. We've been lucky lately to have some fresh foods sent from town but our basics are being used up a lot faster than anticipated. It's different for different families and all are willing to share their food with others but we're all going to have to think about what we are going to need to take us through the last, and I understand the roughest, portion of our journey and to last us until gardens start to produce after we arrive.

We have only one small town to go through yet, the one we have been using as an address for loved ones. We might be able to get some supplies there but from what I hear it's a pretty small town. We might be lucky for a convenience store or small grocery. We won't be there for several days so perhaps we can get an order in for things to be sent there if you already haven't. There might just still be time.

The vets were here again this morning and some of the animals are going to need more exercise if we're to keep them from stiffening up. They are just too cooped up in those small pens and there isn't enough of us to keep an eye on them to let them all graze at the same time. Are numbers are pretty depleted now and we'll be doing good to find drivers for all the teams when we do get back on the road. A few animals are having trouble with infection too even though we have been keeping those wounds clean. Some of them got another round of antibiotics and maybe that will help. I vets also say we'll need to watch all the babies because milk supply might be down just when they need it most. Really, even when WE need it most.

Oh, wait….. the ranch owner just came driving in. Looks like he's kind of upset. He's talking with Mr. J and Mr. S about something and waving his hands around while he's doing it, kind of excited like. With Mt.R still resting I guess I better see what's up. Maybe he's found out something about Michael and Lori. I hope it's nothing bad.

Mt3B is out of town for a week so that's one. Stephanie was as well. CGA has had some computer problem if I heard that right and will be back with us soon. PCS has been having all sorts of computer problems but we miss her. Arby I believe we lost before we fairly got started. ((((Arby))))) I bet she's reading though.

Michael and Lori,,,,well they are missing yet in the thread. LOL

This really has been the most incredible writing endeavor I've ever seen. We are all playing well off each other without unduly putting words or actions on others that they have to deal with other than a few bloopers. We are getting a look into how different people react to different circumstances and we are learning and having fun. What more could you ask for? Okay okay, MORE!!!!

Be prepared, there is MORE coming to a thread near you...

Well, it's been a busy day today. I got a chance to talk to Mt3B and I will be saying prayers for her son and hoping that they will be able to rejoin us soon.

I also have just checked on MtR and she is still not feeling well and is going to be staying down for a while yet. I brought her and Mr. MtR supper tonight so she didn't have to come out. By the way, Thanks to Annarchy, that Cala Visita with those ribeye's was WONDERFUL. What a nice fresh addition to our diets. I hope you all had a chance to have a taste.

I am very worried about Michael and Lori. They still are not back though their note said they would be back in about 4 1/2 hours and that was early this morning. We've sent a couple of the ranch hands out to see if they can find them and ascertain they are okay. Please add them to your prayers.

I'm a bit concerned as a few of our members have been pretty quiet lately and we are hoping they are doing okay. Has anyone checked on CGA and her family? What about Stephanie and family? Has anyone by chance heard whether they might be able to rejoin us soon? I'm so glad they missed that horrible accident. PCS is still not able to join us but we're looking for her soon too. Perhaps she will have Arby with her.

Annarchy tells us that her MIL will be joining us soon and we are all looking forward to meeting her. She sounds like such a nice person.

The deputies have been worderful about trying to keep press and town people back today to give us a chance to rest. They have even moved their cars further down the road to a point that people who drive out can no longer even see us. That isn't stopping people from going through the woods but it's made the day much quieter.

The vets have declared our animals to be on the mend though they will take a lot of care yet. When we get on the road again we well have to take it easy with them. I noticed Mr. J and Mr. S have gone in to have a talk with MtR and I suspect that they are trying to assess our readiness to move. We can't possibly stay here much longer as we are gaining way too much notice from the media.

I'm hoping that you all have your wagons repaired and that you have teams lined up to pull them. The rancher has been nice enough to offer some replacements until we get those that are to be coming from the mayor.

We've had some tough times so far and I pray we have smooth trailing from now on but one thing I've learned is that we are really learning about working together. I am proud to be able to be one of you.

Get some rest everyone. Be prepared to move out tomorrow just in case. I'm going to go set by the fire a while, maybe say some prayers, if anyone wants to keep me company. Just can't sleep well while some of our member are missing.

YUM that sounds wonderful, nnarchy. I guess I'm going to have to try this the same day we have it on the trail so I know IRL what it is. Thank you so much for posting it.

Here's The oatmeal pie recipe some of you have been asking about.

Oatmeal pie

3/4 cup packed brown sugar

2 eggs

3/4 cup corn syrup

1/4 cup butter

1/4 to 1/2 tsp salt

1/2 cup flaked coconut (opt., increase oatmeal by 1/2 cup)

3/4 cup Quick cooking oats

1 Unbaked pie shell for 9 inch pie (single crust)

Mix all ingredients together and pour into pie shell.

Bake at 325 degrees for 45 minuted until golden brown. A knife inserted near the center will come out clean when done.

When I bake this on an open fire I put the empty pie shell, in a pan, into a heated Dutch Oven. I use a few rocks in the bottom of the Dutch, under the pie pan, to help keep the bottom of the pie from buring. I set the pan over just a few coals (four or five briquettes if using charcoal) a short distance away from the fire. I pour the filling carefully into the crust and cover the Dutch with the lid. I put more coals (12 or 14 briquettes) on the top of the Dutch Oven (I use about one third on bottom and two third coals on top ratio). If the Dutch is setting near the fire it is best to turn the Dutch a quarter turn every ten or fifteen minutes to keep it from burning on one side. Check pie after a half hour being careful not to get top coals or ashes in the pie. Add coals if the pie is not baking well.

What a morning. First I hear MT3B and SF leaving in the night. I hope there is nothing serious with their son. I said a prayer for their family. They sure don't need anything else. I guess I'll check on those little twins for her first thing this morning and make sure they are both still nursing well.

Then Michael and Lori are hitching up first thing this morning and I couldn't help wonder if they had just finally had it and were heading back but then I saw them headed north instead so figured they were just going ahead. When someone came past and said they had just gone for a jaunt I was relieved but also worried as we really only knew they were going to see an abandoned farm somewhere and we might have some difficulties finding them if needed. I do agree that our animals need exercise today. Especially those with injuries. We don't need them stiffening up on us.

And speaking of exercise, I had some in the middle of the night. Now quit smirking, ... I was chasing meadow voles all over the camper wagon. When I went to bed last night I kept smelling cooked meat. I had gotten all washed up but then I noticed that the smell was in my hair. YUK! Too late to wash it and I was too tired. Sometime in the night I woke to something

chewing on my hair.

My first reaction was to swat it away and I heard something hit the side of the wagon and then the floor. Of course that had Sasha jumping up and almost knocking me over as I crawled out of bed. By then DH and Mom were both awake and I'd finally found a flashlight and started shining it around. It was about that time I hopped back into bed. Running around in the light was three meadow voles. Bless Sasha, she didn't even make a sound, just tried grabbing one of them that came scurrying past her.

Mom came from behind her curtain and grabbed a broom while I grabbed one of DH's boots and we tried to go after the little beggers. With Sasha in the way it was pretty difficult to get to them and they soon disappeared under and in various cracks and creavises in the supplies. Mom and I both had the same idea and we started digging boxes out from under her seat/bed. Soon we'd found the mouse traps that she had suggested we pack and started looking for the peanut butter to bait them. It was almost a half hour before we got everyone settled back down again and then I couldn't sleep, waiting for the traps to snap and worried they'd be back nibbling on my hair.

By this morning we'd not caught one in a trap but I could hear them scurrying around behind supplies. All I could think about was them chewing into our food and I knew that we'd have to do something different. Meadow voles are notoriously feisty and they are difficult to catch so I decided I'd try a bucket. Before we left the wagon this morning I put some water in the bottom of the bucket, hung a bit of bacon from a string over it and leaned a small box against the side. A pioneer mousetrap! The principle is that the rodent will climb up the ramp, jump over to get the bait and then not be able to get back and fall into the bucket. As they can't climb the sides of the buckets they eventually drown in the water..

Is anyone else having trouble with these and do you have any other suggestions for catching them if this doesn't work. I might end up borrowing one of DD's cats but I'm not sure about a cat and Sasha in the same space, not because Sasha has a problem with cats but because we already trip on HER in there let alone another animal to tend with.

I can take almost any animal and I'm not even really afraid of snakes but I really DO detest mice. I might have to sleep outside tonight.

I had a chance to talk with Annarchy yesterday and we've come up with the idea of having her wonderful and most likely VERY tender rib eye tonight for a community meal. She's so generous with all her bounty. I gave her a big hug for her thoughtful ness. She was out tending to the hide most of the afternoon yesterday but I only got to see part of the process. I only hope we can move it when we are on the road and finish it as we go along.

It's been nice just setting here by the fire but I need to get busy. The milking is already done but I need to do something with the cream from last night's milk and I want to check on Q and MtR too. We still have to decide how we're distributing the meat from yesterday. I see that my family is starting to rearrange the supplies in the wagons, trying to get the sheet steel and canners and such back in. They are going to be getting the wagons ready to travel as well. I wouldn't think we'd be here too long yet. We can't afford to stay here with all this attention from the town and media. We need……..

Oh good, the vets are here to check the animals. I guess I'll head out there to see what they think about moving the animals soon.

I soooo wanted to go with Michael and Lori and the rest of the group on that nature hike. I've sent along my field guides to wild edibles and medicinals and hopefully they will have a great time. There's no way I would have made 2 hours though so I turned my attention to the processing of those huge hunks of beef.

I would have preferred to see that beef hang with it's coat on for a couple of weeks some where cold to help tenderize it but we don't have that luxury. Thankfully we've had some help out there with the butchering as that is a heavy, dirty job. I've suggested that we only take the better cuts from the carcass even though I would love to see those bones used for broth and etc.

We've set up a workstation in the camp with all available tables used for cutting and processing. It was decided to try to dry some of the meat for better efficiency of storage so we set up a row of low smoky fires away from the camp and the prevailing winds. We aren't going to have time to slow smoke them so we'll have to make do with using a faster method similar to one they used in the past. We've commandeered almost every grate, grill, rack and container in the camp including the Benefactor's wagons. Thankfully, we also have the loan of their chef and helpers from that group. They have really sped up the cutting process and even had a hand operated meat slicer that is perfect for making thinner slices so the meat will dry even faster.

I noticed that we had a bunch of people from the nearby town looking on, interested in the process and believing it was actually a part of the scene. So I decided that instead of them just standing there we needed to put them to work. It was easy. I just walked up to them and started talking about the process s it would have been done in the past and said that we were actually finding it fun to try to recreate the work. Wasn't long before I had volunteers. Kind of shades of Tom Sawyer and painting a fence.

I wanted to have the guys dig out my wood burning cook stove and assemble it for canning on but if we do get out of here tomorrow it would take a lot to get it all packed back in again. It's buried now and even at that it wouldn't give us a lot of surface for canning. So we set up fires near the tables instead with our big sheet of steel plate and a couple of smaller ones and have made them into a sort of long low cook top. I was worried about getting enough wood in for all the cooking but the rancher, who's land we're on, came to the rescue with a couple of pick up loads full of dry wood and then took his workers and a couple of chain saws to bring us green wood to keep some smoke going in the long fires.

One older guy from the town group used to be a butcher and he readily joined the guys at the carcass to help out. He showed them how to remove the hide in such a way that a lot of the fat was left on the meat. Then he had them bring the fat to us so we could render that too if we wanted saying that we could use it just like lard if we wanted to 'lard' some beef. I had only heard of doing that with pork so was glad to give it a try. We now have about ten big containers (crocks, plastic buckets and etc) cleaned and ready to receive some fried meat with 'tallow' between them. Tallow being the term for beef or venison fat, lard more indicative of pork. Tallow, besides being a good addition to our diets is also useful for making candles if you don't store them where it's too warm. So some of those containers will be just lard.

With all available canners in play and all available jars and lids we managed to get a lot of canners going. It isn't easy to keep the pressure even over the fire and someone has to be constantly watching and moving coals but so far it's working. Even at that there is no way to use more than a half of the available meat out there. I am really impressed though. It didn't take long before the whole camp looked like a canning factory and the smell was something else. Not even sure if I LIKED the smell. Raw meat, cooked meat, burned meat (took us a bit to learn to control the drying fires) I can only say that I was glad that the kids had a place to go instead of being underfoot.

I stepped back at one point and had to smile at the scene. There we were, our members and members of the Benefactor's wagons working side by side with some of the spectators to process the meat from otherwise wasted animals. Canners were starting to steam on the steel plate, thinly sliced pieces of meat were already laid on grates and others were being marinated in various concoctions and people were starting to salt chunks of brisket into a barrel to use as corned beef. It really was a scene from the past. I only wish it had been going into winter instead of spring. All this would have been a lot easier if the meat could have been frozen and then processed a little at a time.

I went over to check out the butchering process a while ago, to see how much meat we'd already gotten to the tables, and found the livers and hearts cleaned and laid to the side. Those are difficult pieces to can but I'd really hoped they could be used and, after a bit of a chat with the old butcher to get some ideas from him, I asked if they could be brought to the tables next. Then I went to have a talk with the head chef from the Benefactor's wagons. As I suspected he had a meat grinder as well as the slicer and after telling him what I wanted to do he sent someone to his wagon to get it. In the mean time I went to my wagon to dig through some of the preserving things I had there and finally found what I wanted. I'd stuck a huge box of casings in there and the seasonings for making sausage. They weren't natural ones but now I was glad I had gotten them. I brought them back to the tables and it wasn't long before we had meat going into the grinder to make sausages from. Some would be made into liverwurst, one of my favorites. We could have used the oxen intestines but I didn't want to take time to clean and wash enough for what we had. If we can get these done in time we'll be able to smoke some of them a bit before we have to leave. They might have to be eaten soon but will keep for a while at least.

Now I have another idea for using up some of the meat scraps and have started a big pot of them cooking with spices, dried onions, peppers, celery and spices and will add corn meal and whole wheat to thicken the whole thing later. I'm hoping that it will turn out like scrapple though I usually make that with pork. We'll put the gruel into pans and let it set up solid and maybe slice and fry it for supper tonight to go with the steak that we are planning for the whole camp. The steaks may be tough but I'm hoping that soaking them in milk for a few hours will help with that. I know it will take out the strong taste that you can get from an older animal.

I better quit setting her drinking tea and resting and get back to work. I believe we're all going to be tired tonight but at least there are a lot of hands to do this. Even the people from the benefactor's wagons are here helping. It's pretty obvious that some of them are not even familiar with cooking but they are learning fast. It's nice to see us all finally starting to work together. We're going to have to do that once we start our new community, might as well work on it now. It's amazing how adversity bonds people.

Well, back to work....

(((((Annarchy))))))) (Don't ya hate when that happens )

The day has gone so much better than I had expected it would go. Our kids are so great. They did everything in their power to make sure that Mom and I got a chance to rest today. Q was so thoughtful to come check on me, bringing a cup of fragrant hot tea and a hug. Somehow a hug from a friend always makes things better. Michael also came to check, bless him, but I was resting and he insisted no one disturb me.

I didn't get a chance to check on MtR yet but Quilty's said she was going to head over there to do it and I'm sure she will make sure all is okay. I'm sure we will be hearing from MtR as soon as she's feeling up to it. I really can't fault her for what she did. I understand all too well for it is something I would most likely do myself. I sure am doing a lot of praying though.

The vets were here to check on the animals. Most are doing fairly well but we aren't sure about some of them yet. I'm concerned about the number of them that are limping. Even when we do get back on the road again we're going to have to take it slow or we're going to have a lot of permanent lameness. Our gelding will be one of those. I thought sure we were going to have to put him down after what he went through and from the amount cuts that he had but the vet assures me that it's mostly superficial wounds. He won't be able to be in the traces for quite a while though and unless we change out the hitch we can't use the mare alone. I believe we'll see if the rancher will sell us another horse or perhaps trade us for the gelding.

We changed a few bandages and gave some shots but it was all pretty much just rechecks to make sure there were no serious problems cropping up. They will be back daily until we leave.

I had one of the vets check on Sasha while they were here. When I mentioned the numbers on her tags she called the clinic on their radio and had their office staff check on them. They will let me know tomorrow if they find anything out about her. The vet agrees with me that she seems no worse for her dragging the young boy out of the water. I laughed when the vet said it was "all in a day's work" for her. I then had to explain how she'd saved my life. She really is a remarkable dog. I'm sure she has been well trained at some point in her life as she obeys commands excellently.

The parents of that young boy Sasha rescued was here this afternoon. He is doing fine and is back with his parents in the Benefactor's group. He did have a bump and a small cut on his head that I hadn't seen. Obviously the cold water had kept the cut from bleeding but the bump had caused unconsciousness. They have to watch him for a few days as he had a slight concussion but they believe he will be fine. They believe that if not for the dog the boy would have drowned. They brought several boxes of Milk Bones for her as a thank you and a large bag of dog food. I told them that Sasha and I would walk up tomorrow to visit the boy.

After assessing all our livestock and wagons we have decided we were lucky. Other than the gelding and the deep cut on one of the cows all the animals seem to be doing well. The wagons have no damage that wasn't easily repaired but our medical supplies are sadly depleted. I will try to replace them with some of what we got from the hospital. The grandson with the injured leg is limping more today. He bumped that knee coming out of the wagon too fast when the chaos started. DH is also limping with a sore leg but doesn't remember doing anything specific to it. The youngest GS has several bruises from where his uncle grabbed him but that's a whole lot better than being run over by a team of spooked oxen. Mom seems a bit weak today but says she will be fine after a couple days rest but I worry about her. I'm pretty sure she gave her pacemaker a good workout yesterday. I also worry about our son with his COPD. He's breathing heavier than I'm comfortable with but says he's fine. I know he has a large supply of medication with him but he's been trying to go without, as there will be no more when we are in our new land. Instead he's been using the herbs I blend for him.

As for me, I'm finding bruises that I have no idea how I got. Like DH I guess I was beyond physical feeling while trying to get through the day. I am feeling them tonight but have made some comfrey poultices for us to use and I know from past experience that the bruises will already be fading by morning. Comfrey is amazing stuff. I will be using it on some of the animals for bruising and strains. I also found large patches of plantain near the stream today and will be able to use that to draw out any infection in wounds if needed.

I am tired tonight but I believe I would enjoy some singing around the fire. I know that the prayer meeting and songs this morning refreshed my soul as nothing else could do. We are so fortunate to have the Gee's with us.

I see that MT3B is back from the hospital. I imagine she’s tired so I won’t disturb her tonight but tomorrow I’ll have to ask how their son is doing. I am concerned about others as well. Some have been very quiet.

I really do think I will have another cup of tea and then settle by the fire awhile. Sasha will have to sit with me. I can’t convince her to crawl into the wagon with DH and Mom. Dumb dog….Dumb lovable loyal dog. Hmm smoke must be getting in my eyes, it’s making them tear.

Well good morning Michael. Why, thank you for the donuts. I know the family will love them and I will love not having to cook right away. From the Mayor? He has a lot to answer for in the way he chose to do things yesterday but I can't fault him for being worried about his daughter. I prayed about my anger in the night and I can only say that it is not for me to judge him or his actions because I know that in His own way, God will see to that. I know it will be hard for the families of those who are injured to come to terms with this and I also prayed that they would find comfort in His loving arms.

By the way, I really appreciated your songs last night. I love the wedding song but last night I found a whole new meaning in the words.

It is good to see a few fires already burning. It's chilly this morning. I want to go check on MtR soon but I know she will need her sleep and lots of rest. It's good we are going to be settling in for a few days so we can all mend, hearts, souls, and bodies.

As Michael moves on to check on others I settle in a chair by the fire that one of the kids started earlier, probably DD as she is usually up early but I didn't bother to look out so it could have been anyone, maybe even one of the deputies. We will have to do the chores soon, the milking and feeding, but today there will be plenty of help with no animals to hitch and no preps for the trail to be made. That almost seems a blessing if the reason for it weren't so dire. Like MtR this disaster has taken a toll on me as well, but then, I believe it has done so to even those younger, healthier ones. A few days rest should help us all.

I'm trying to see this as an opportunity. I want to totally rearrange some of the wagons to make things more accessible and more comfortable. We have used an incredible amount of supplies already and we are only about half way on our journey. I am relieved to find that we planned well though and I believe we will have enough to last us if we are careful. I am hoping to supplement our meals by foraging and Annarchy's great finds assure me that spring is here and there will be more edibles out there. I am looking forward to taking a short walk later to find greens for a salad.

One of the vets told me yesterday that a couple of them would be out again today to check the injured animals and to bring us some much needed supplies for them. . Strangely enough, I got the impression that a couple of the vets have figured out that we are not just a 'reenactment' group or if we are we are going to be carrying this thing a lot further than just a wagon train ride. Perhaps it was because of what they saw in some of the wagons, perhaps someone let it slip in the chaos of the moment. Whatever, they asked me if there was anything they could bring us that would help us "along the trail". I know the bills are intended to go to the Mayor but I suspect there will be a lot more supplies than just what is needed immediately. I just hope if they do suspect something, they don't say anything about it. I will admit to wishing I could get one of them to go with us.

Well, the family is starting to gather around the fire so I believe I need to get moving, if I can get up out of this chair. *groan* Getting old is definitely not for Sissies!

Let's hope we all have a peaceful day.

The chores are finally done. Milking cows and goats that are injured or stressed was not easy. Teams were still restless and apt to be spooky. Supper is over and dishes washed and put away.

It's dark now and the chaos of the day has been hidden by the night. In the light of the fire though you can see that we've all been through a war and the aftermath shows on every face. Shock is just setting in for many of us. That often happens after a crisis. A lot of hot coffee has been served tonight and all sorts of sweets have been unearthed from wagons that have been left in such disarray that it will be difficult for some to find a place to sleep in them.

It is quiet in camp but for the occasional cry of an injured animal and the soft sound of guitar music near the fire. People are coming and going, almost wraith like in their silence. They are setting near the large community fire or at smaller fires near their wagons, or checking on loved ones. Our injured are either at the hospital or are tucked into warm beds with antibiotics and pain medication.

I am setting near our own small fire and Mom comes and sets beside me. I have only seen her a couple of times today. She has been with the children most of the afternoon, talking to them, finding things for them to do that make them feel helpful, soothing injured minds and emotions, handing out hugs and the occasional kiss. Once I saw her directing the kids as they picked up belongings scattered along the road, once she was making hot chocolate with a half dozen kids helping. She looks tired and I can see that the day has taken a toll. I thought she had gone to bed but she says she can't sleep and thought a cup of tea would help. I have a pot of my special calming blend steeping near the fire and I pour us each a tin mug full. We both add honey, knowing the sweetener will help to soothe as well. We sit quietly listening to the music at the bigger fire and letting the edginess seep out of our souls.

It isn't long before the rest of the family has joined us, even the youngest GS though he's usually in bed long before this. The family dogs, including Sasha, are curled near us, occasionally lifting a nose to push it under a hand for a pat. Everyone has found something to drink and we quietly talk about what needs to be repaired or replaced. We make plans to sort through the wagons tomorrow and attempt to restore order. We sit for over an hour, enjoying the feeling of relief that we are all together, saddened for those families who are not. We are finally calm enough to consider going to the wagons to try to find some rest. The Sheriff has sent deputies to act as guards so our people will feel safe but we take a few minutes to check on the animals before having a group hug and heading to our wagons.

Mom and Dh are asleep in minutes, even Sasha is deeply asleep beside our bed but I lay awake long into the night, unable to turn off the mental chatter.

At least when I do it I do it in duplicate.

You really DO have to love the bloopers though.

Sorry,,,,Seems we can't even do recipes without BLOOPERS!!!

Is that a bit better???

DH and I were just bringing the horses back to the wagon. We had considered just bringing water to the teams but as everyone else seemed to be unhitching we followed suit. I'm so glad we did. At first the helicopter noise didn't seem to bother them much but when that loud speaker blared the gelding I was leading went nuts. He's always been fairly easy to handle and I wasn't holding him as well as I should have I guess but the first thing I know he was rearing up and bolting. He only went a couple hundred yards before he tangled in his traces and went down almost head over heels.

I started to go to him but then was bumped from behind by the mare and turned to add my weight to DH's as she was almost pulling him off the ground. As soon as we got her settled I turned to go to the gelding and saw him still thrashing on the ground getting the harness more tangled with each kick. Before I could reach him DD was coming from between the wagons with the youngest GS behind her. She threw herself onto the gelding's head to get him to lie still. DH and I reached her just about the time our son came from the trees and grabbed our GS, pulling him out of the way just as a team of still yoked oxen ran past us.

DH was helping with the gelding so I looked around to try to see what other damage was done. I couldn't believe the chaos. People were screaming, animals were running everywhere, dogs were barking, and a general feeling of panic pervaded it all. I didn't know where to start. I could see animals bleeding but I could also see there were people injured and I started towards the medical wagon knowing they would need help. Our granddaughter and grandson's SO were just coming from the back of a wagon and I stopped them to see how the rest of the family were doing. They told me that none of them were injured and then I sent them to help DD with the other animals.

Q and CGA were trying to set up a triage system and I went to do what I could to help. For a while it seemed like half the wagon train was there but it wasn't long before we heard another helicopter landing in a field near the road. When medical personal started crawling out I gave a sigh of relief. As soon as they reached the medical wagon I headed back to see what I could do to help the animals.

As I passed our camper wagon I stopped to check on Sasha, who I'd left inside and found her gone. I started yelling for her and then among the noise though I heard her barking at a distance over towards the stream. I followed the sound towards the bank. After a little bit of searching I finally spotted her over the embankment, lying near the water. She seemed to be curled around what I thought to be an animal. I made my way carefully down the bank and found the animal was actually a young boy, soaking wet and unconscious, though breathing okay. I didn't want to move him and told Sasha to stay while I made my way up the bank and started calling for help. A couple of the EMT's heard my call and came running. Sasha laid perfectly still while the man and the woman approached. They were a bit afraid of her but she only wagged her tail as they checked the boy over before sliding him cautiously onto a board that a deputy had appeared with. They said it looked like Sasha had pulled him from the water and had probably saved his life. All I could think about was that she was good at that. I called to her and made my way up the bank. I knew there was a lot more to do.

I took Sasha back to our camper wagon and put her inside, hoping she would stay. Then went to check out animals. When I reached the last of our wagons, which had been last in line today, I found that a couple of corrals had been hastily set up using CGA's and our fencing. Another area had been set up using ropes and our step in posts. That wouldn't hold much but the calmer animals were being housed there. Our Gs, the one with the injured knee was setting on a chair outside the wagon with his lap top in hand. To keep from being bored while his leg had been healing he'd made a list of all the animals with the group. He was systematically checking them off as they were found and brought in. That would really help us with the search.

DGD already had my med kit out and anything else she could find and had them set up on a table. She was with DD in a small pen trying to clean up a deep cut on a goat. I could see our gelding tied off to one side of the wagon, finally calm but pretty beat up looking. One leg looked in pretty bad shape. The mare was standing beside him and looked okay though. I saw one of the oxen standing outside the corral holding a leg off the ground and could see the leg was pretty mangled, most likely broken. He still had the yoke dangling from his neck. I knew there was nothing that could be done for it and I looked over to the animals milling around inside the pens. I knew I couldn't tackle the bigger animals by myself but as I opened the makeshift gate I found a deputy by my side asking if he could help any way. I didn't have a clue if he'd ever been around animals before but I took him up on his offer and had him help me maneuver one of the cows to the fence. He knew what he was doing. There were other people there by that time, all trying to help but most we sent out to bring in more animals. Several of us continued to clean wounds. I don't know how long it was before I realized that we had some strangers working with us. I hadn't even heard the vet's trucks pull in but I was so grateful for them being there I could have cried. Then suddenly I realized there WERE tears running down my face. I brushed them away and went over to help one of the vets with one of our milk cows, which was bleeding profusely from a wound on her neck.

It seemed like we worked for hours, it probably was as it was late afternoon when we finally had all the animals cared for or stabilized. There were some we'd have to have put down. Such a senseless waste. Most of the oxen and horse teams were still in their traces when they bolted and that had done a lot of damage. I figure there would be broken yokes and pieces of harness found everywhere after this was all over. Unfortunately there were still a lot of animals missing according to my GS's tally. Some people on horseback had shown up hours earlier and I knew they were still out looking.

I felt someone touch my shoulder and looked up to see DH. He handed me a mug of hot tea and told me that it was time I came and sat down as everything was under control. I looked around for the first time to see that someone had started putting the uninjured teams to wagons and was pulling them off the road into a large grassy area and setting up camp. Our wagons were still standing where we'd left them and so was the medical wagon which still had some activity around it. DGSIL and our GD were just coming up with one of our oxen teams to start moving our wagons to camp and I thought of Sasha.

I handed my cup to DH and crawled into our wagon to find the dog laying peacefully on the floor, seeming no worse for the wear except she was still damp from her swim in the river. I checked her over the best I could without disturbing her too much and then just sat next to her on the edge of our bed, drinking the tea DH had handed in to me and sort of petting Sasha with my foot. I wasn't sure what had happened or why the helicopter and sheriff cars were there but I was angry. I was angry enough to have tears slide down my face. I knew this was going to be a huge setback to the wagon train. I wiped the tears away though and realized that it didn't matter. We had no choice but to continue if we wanted to have any kind of life. This chaos today was just more proof that our government was out of control. The sooner we got to our new land, the sooner we could put all this behind us and start a new life. And then I just prayed, for a long time I just prayed.

When I heard the guys putting a team to the wagon I crawled back out to see what else I could help with.

DH and I headed towards the camp; stopping at the medical wagon on the way to see how bad things had been there. It was bad. Someone had a fire going and several big pots were already hanging over it along with several big coffee pots. When our wagons arrived I would see what I had to add to the meal. But first I went to find CeeGee. We were probably going to need her and Mr.Gee to help council those who were in shock with all this. Physical wounds weren't going to be the only wounds coming from this. I knew somehow even I would have to eventually deal with the anger I felt towards those in charge of this fiasco.

Cee Gee, thank you. That was beautiful. Thank you.

(Mother is sniffling IRL as she reads once again the beautiful promise that we are given. )

Dogmom, I've made several different types of insulated cookers and they all have the same principle. The object is to make sure that the insulation is directly in contact with the pan on the inside and there is as little air between as possible. Pioneer used to use hay in a box with the pot being totally surrounded with it, often covered with a quilt.

I've used double canners with quilt batting between them but find it doesn't hold the heat as well as if you just wrap the inner pan with batting and then place it in an insulated cooler, especially one like MtR is talking about. I believe they are thicker walled than the picnic type ones. The object is to make sure the inner pot stays as hot as possible, or in the case of yogurt, the correct temperature.

I have a camping one that has a gas burner inside to heat the contents originally. Then you close the box and it finishes cooking. It's probably thirty five or more years old and weighs half a ton. I don't use it nearly as much as the one insulated with Thinsulate.

I love my insluated cooker. I use it several times a week and it's saved us a lot of money over the years. I'd like a bigger one but at those prices I can't afford it. I keep my eyes open for them at auctions and good will but have never seen another one like it until the link today.

I'm glad you are enjoying the threads. I am too.

Oh my goodness Jeanette. That Dream Pot is almost exactly like mine except that I don't have a handle on the outside pot. Mine came brand new in the box from an auction for $6 about ten years ago. They had dozens of them and now I wish I'd bought them allllllllll!!!!! $255 for the size I have. I could have made a fortune Course, mine is from some foriegn country and I can barely read the recipe book even if it IS in English. It works great and I love it and really do wish I had a couple more of them.

I chuckled at your worrying about us with our colds but truthfully that only means that we are making it real enough that everyone can learn from the experience and that is what a good scenario should do I guess. Thank you for your prayers, IRL and in UN life.

Hey, Mt_R,,,,I gave it a try. I can't help it if it didn't come out any better than before. I'm STILL a bit confused but I do know it's EASTER April 4th in Wagon's HO time. That's MY story and I'm sticking to it ,,,,,(I think)

Good Morning everyone, and Happy Easter (in UNreality time) It's hard to believe that it's already Aril 4th. Usually I'd have planted Potatoes on Good Friday as my Grandfather used to do, weather permitting that is. He was a potato farmer and it always seemed to work for him. We are still a long way from our destination so it doesn't look like we'll be planting potatoes any time soon.

I see a lot of "Easter Bunnies" out early this morning so I suppose it won't be long before the kids are out having a great time finding the eggs. What fun it was trying to see how pretty we could make them with natural means. Some of them have turned out really extraordinary with their lacing of swirls and designs where wax or crayon was used.

I was thinking early this morning about Easter and realized that as we are such a diverse population we most likely have others with us that celebrate other holidays than just Christian ones. We will have to make an effort to find what they are and help celebrate those as well.

Sasha is no longer restless so I can only assume we are not having puppies for a while at least. She really doesn't show signs of having them today at least. She doesn't have that sunk in look by her tail I always associate with imminent birth. That's okay, they will get here when they are ready, just like babies have for centuries and beyond. I'm just glad she's starting to slow down in her eating. She seems to be getting enough now thanks to all who have donated to her diet.

We got most of the laundry done before sunset last night and managed to lay some of the white things on the grass where the animals would go. Mt_R, you asked why that would whiten them. I'm definitely not an expert on the how but I know that years ago the housewife would put her special white things out on a patch of grass at night so the dew and moonlight would make them especially white. Dew is a distilled product so I suppose as the distilled 'water' soaks into the cloth it dissolves some of the minerals in the clothing. I have found that they are whiter after the dew is dried by the morning sun so I feel it is the sunlight working symbiotically with the dew that does the whitening. But then, moonlight DOES have properties as well so it might just be a combination of both. I love the smell of the clothing after they have laid in clean grass overnight and then dried in the morning sun. The clothing always comes in soft and almost wrinkle free as well. No laundry softener in the world can beat that.

Hmmm, just thought that this should have been a topic for MONDAY morning. That was the typical washday in the past. With being on the trail we've all have had to adjust our routines to accommodate necessities. I started my bread sponge last night and this morning I'll set it rising before services. Then after our community potluck I'll get my Dutch Ovens back from Mr.MtR to bake the loaves. That sure was a heavenly smell coming from their camp last night. By the time I get back to the bread they should be nice and light and the coals should be just perfect for all sorts of baking and that will save the LP for use in only inclement weather. It's a good thing I have several Dutch Ovens along and our big one as well because I will have fourteen loaves of bread to bake. With so many of us to feed we have used up almost half of our fine milled flour already even with adding fresh ground whole grain flour each time we use it.

As we are going to be eating a big meal later we’ve chosen to eat lightly for breakfast. Mostly just biscuits and something to drink but there’s yogurt for those who want a bit more. Speaking of the potluck, we are bringing oatmeal pies. DD had a chance to practice her open fire pie making. They didn’t turn out too bad, though one was just a bit too done on one side. You won’t have to worry about eating that one though, the Grandkids took care of that last night. LOL

Well I see the kids are starting to mill around. I believe I’ll go watch the fun. Let’s all have a wonderful day today.

Mt_Rider thinks that SHE has it bad trying to keep up with two seasons. I've been volunteered to write a THANKSGIVING story for DGS's Home school group and now I have to try to keep not only the seasons straight but the Pioneer's and Pilgrims straight

SO,,,,, the Wagons left around the first of March. They have traveled five weeks UN time (for UN-reality time) That puts us with Easter being tomorrow IRL (In Real Life) time; April 4th in UN time.

I just hope we get there by planting time Stay tuned to find out and to watch for MORE Of our bloopers.

I haven't got a format set up to post recipes here. If you want to post them as a normal recipe that's fine. If you want to keep them in the first person as if you are telling them, that's fine too. You can even post them as they might have been found in a pioneer 'reciept' book with a shell full of this and a nut sized piece of butter, a tea cup full of flour, and a pinch of salt....

All I ask is that you make sure the recipe would/could be done on an open fire or on a camp stove/oven or in some manner that we would have been able to do on the trail such as solar, insulated cooker (fireless cooker), pie irons, grills (not gas grills maybe) and etc. Hmmm guess that leaves a lot of leeway doesn't it?

Feel free to copy and paste any and all of these recipes for your own personal use. If a recipe is taken from a copyrighted book be sure to give credit where it's due. Somewhere here is a link to a ton of old time recipe books and when I get a chance I'll try to find it unless someone else finds and posts it here first.

Hopefully though, these recipes will be tried and true favorites around the camp fire. Those are always the best kind.

Feel free to make comments on the recipes but be aware, if the comment doesn't add any specific information to the recipe or instructions (for instance a "wow, that sounds good I think I'll try it" remark) it might later be deleted to clean up the thread and make the recipies easier to find.

Happy cooking everyone!