My chickens like to lay their eggs in the far left corner of the coop. The issue with this is that it’s *just* out of my reach, even on my tiptoes. I could go buy a cinder block from home depot which is like 10 miles away, or I could improvise. Today I discovered that a pasta spoon is perfect for reaching and grabbing those eggs.

Now I just have to go buy a replacement cuz I know my husband is going to pitch a fit.

I’m just thrilled. Today I did something I haven’t been able to do since I lived in Iowa, in 2004…. I took my recyclables out to the curb. I didn’t have to drag them to a drop off, I just took my own bins leisurely down the driveway…

We’re not officially in San Tan Valley, and we’re not Queen Creek, we have no city services, and that includes garbage, recycling, etc, we have to outsource. STV Today wrote about a local company, S & D Recycling, that does curb side recycling for free and they recycle everything.

They come twice a week, we had our two large bins we normally drive in to a drop off full so those went out, came home to empty bins and it was sooooo nice.  I’m one happy camper right now!!!

So I’ve run into a bit of an issue with not having enough egg cartons and way too many eggs.

Thankfully, I have some new friends thanks to the Real STV Mom’s group who are going to set aside some cartons for me.

Right now, I have eggs sitting in bowls, filled to their brims, in the fridge. Oops! Ray’s supposed to get up at some point today and make breakfast. That’ll clear a bunch of them out.

On other things, I’ve blown through 2 cheap hoses with the misting unit that runs out to the coop to keep the chickies cooler. It’s hotter than hell outside and I’m doing what I can to keep my chicks cool. The first one blew in the middle of what will eventually be the garden area, but the next day, the hose blew inside the chicken coop so it was a small lake in there. The chicks had no idea what to do, they were all standing on the ramp, very confused. Lol, poor things.

Not a lot really going on, just working and trying to make it through this summer.

Made from-scratch blueberry muffins last night. Now these are more like blueberry “bisquits”, they’re not like breakfast muffins or jiffy mix, (which are more sweetened/sugary)- Example, muffins are usually a “poured mixture” into cups,  but with these, it was like rolling dough up in a bowl and plopping them into the cups. (You could probably cook ‘em straight on a greased pan too instead if you want).

They’re a very nice addition to a homecooked meal, Ray really loved ‘em and said I could make those anytime vs regular muffins which surprised me, and I didn’t even do the streusal topping on them this time cuz I wasn’t sure if they were gonna come out.

Servings 8-12 muffins

1/2 cup butter, softened
3/4 cup white sugar
2 eggs
1 teaspoon vanilla extract
2 cups all-purpose flour
2 teaspoons baking powder
1/2 teaspoon salt
1/2 cup milk
1 1/2 cups blueberries- I used big blueberries as you can tell from the picture, lol.

Streusel Mixture:

2 tablespoons all-purpose flour
2 tablespoons brown sugar
1/4 teaspoon ground cinnamon
2 tablespoons butter, chilled

Directions

Preheat oven to 375 degrees.
Grease muffin cups or line with paper muffin liners.

In a large bowl, cream together the butter and sugar until light and fluffy. Stir in the eggs one at a time, beating well with each addition, then stir in the vanilla. In a separate bowl, stir together 2 cups flour, baking powder, and salt.

Stir the flour mixture into egg mixture alternately with milk. Fold in blueberries. Spoon batter into prepared muffin cups. In a small bowl, mix together 2 tablespoons flour, brown sugar and cinnamon. Cut in butter until mixture resembles coarse crumbs. Sprinkle topping over unbaked muffins.
Bake in preheated oven for 25 to 30 minutes, until a toothpick inserted into the center of a muffin comes out clean.

Source for Recipe: http://allrecipes.com/Recipe/Blueberry-Streusel-Muffins/Detail.aspx