Weekend? Wha' weekend?

Nothing like having house guests from Friday night to Monday morning to make the weekend vanish into thin air!  I, of course, had forgotten that the fiber fest they were part of was a two-day affair.  Sigh.  At least I got to try out some new recipes and all were big hits.  Friday night, I made my favorite pulled pork recipe - from Sylvia - that is so completely idiot-proof that it's impossible to get it wrong.  All you need is:  a crockpot; a large onion chopped; a boneless pork roast or tenderloin (mine was about 3.5 lbs), one bottle of beer, one bottle of your favorite BBQ sauce, two minced garlic cloves, and salt and pepper.  Put all ingredients in your crockpot, turn it on low and let it go for 10 hours.  Voila!  Haul out the pork, pull it apart with two forks and put it back in to heat through.  I served it with homemade coleslaw and pumpkin cornbread.  Everyone had seconds of everything - 'though I had to abstain from the cornbread.

Saturday was dealing with another long list at the folks', a trimmed-down version of my Saturday chores, then home to make dinner number two - roast chicken with pomegranate molasses, mashed cauliflower with cheddar cheese, oven roasted Brussels sprouts and chunky apple cake for dessert.  I did put on my big girl pants and have a small piece of the cake (how could I NOT????)  Those pants were awfully uncomfortable later, but it was worth it, I tell you.

Sunday I was less adventurous -- I did have to get some things done around the homestead -- and made a big pot of soup with grilled cheese sandwiches, and leftover cake  for them with vanilla ice cream - for me - for dessert.  I sent the rest of the cake home with them out of self-defense.  I forgot to send the pumpkin cornbread with them, so the chickens will be happy with their treat tomorrow, ungrateful beasts.  Some heartening news, in a back-handed way:  their chickens are not laying a single egg, either.  First time it has happened to them, too.  Misery loves company.

It was so much fun to be able to have rousing conversations into the night!  Sheep!  Dogs!  Fiber!  Heaven! I spend so much of my time at home alone, that I was almost sad to see their visit end.  Almost.  I am very much looking forward to coming home tonight and NOT having to make dinner.  Scrappy, in particular, will be very disappointed when Frances and Suzy do not show up tonight.  They spoiled him rotten.  They cooed over him, petted him, fed him from the table.  Bernie is shyer, so only managed to get half of the loot that he did.  Scrappy is anything but shy.  He is Velcro Dog; Bert Lahr in a Dog Suit; he is ON FIRE!

I was able to check a few things off my list(s), got my laundry done - we all laughed at my frozen jeans on the line Sunday morning - and Flora seems to be coming along.  Of course, I was told that my sheep are fat.  Geez, it's like being called a bad mother.  So, now, they are all on a diet - including the portly little goats.  And my name is Mud as far as the livestock are concerned.  Work on the run-in shed is inching along.  I spent a good two hours trying to get the ding-dang lattice house apart - I had forgotten that Melanie and I had reinforced the thing to within an inch of its life.  As I have been trying to watch my language - as 'empowering' as it may feel, swearing shows a lack of vocabulary (or so I tell myself) - so loud exclamations of:  "CATERPILLAR!!" and "MOLASSES!!" and "DARN RUDBECKIA!!" were heard up and down the road.  I'm sure my few neighbors think I have finally gone over the edge.   The upside of my new colorful language is that it is so absurd even to me, that I end up laughing and that always puts me in a better mood and makes the job easier.  End result of 2 hours of wrestling with the lattice house?  Me: 1  LH: 15.  But I'm gaining on it~by cracky.