Souped Up Coupe

This morning was "Modify the Coupe Day."  Magic Man decided we needed to enhance the "Coop de Ville," making it maintenance friendly.  Step 1, add a hatch system and Step 2, an improved feeding station.  For someone who groaned "Oh dear Lord!" when he first heard the coupe coop idea, he's taken quite a liking to the concept.

You may have seen the first posting of the Coop de Ville, in its early, but livable stage.  But here's what we did today.

Magic Man decided on a "hatch system" that 1) offers protection (we have raccoons, wild cats, and 'possums roaming about the 'hood) and 2) provides easy "open and close" access between the coop and run.  

The Hatch is two part system, one hatch attaches to the coop and another to the run.  The hatches can be coupled securing the living quarters together or quickly decoupled to ease cleaning and relocating the quarters in the yard.

Installing half of the Hatch System to the coop

Hatch closed

Hatch opened

Top view of the coupled hatch, now attached to the coop and the run.  The doors slip down closing either section.

The best part about this system is we can quickly close one or both sections, locking the girls in either half.

The next modification was the feeding system.  Every morning required cleaning the poopy feeder, sighing over wasted feed, and adding a fresh supply of feed.  We repeated this task each evening.

Then we found this feeding station on Pinterest.  We made a few tweaks, using 3" PVC and parts rather than the suggested 2" and we secured the feeders at the base instead of tying them to the walls.   Also, our feeders are 24" tall, purely a cosmetic choice, shorter than 4' tall feeders. 

Magic Man cut three holes in the trunk area, just large enough for the PVC tubing to slide through.  We attached the WYE and bases inside the coop and secured them to the floor.   And finally filled the feeders.  The material cost for three feeders was $30.  A fourth can be added for $7 for the extra WYE and Caps.  Not a bad deal, value-wise.  We can fill the feeders to capacity and the girls will be happy for a week.

Feeding Stations inside the Coupe

Feed Filling Tubes, easily accessed

Wow, what used to take us a good 30 minutes each morning, is now accomplished in about 10 minutes.

Finished Coupe, today

One problem we did not foresee.  What will granddaughter do?  She knows we carry feed to the chickens each morning and battle the chickens to move to greener patches.  She'll have to accept the fact she has more time to play in the morning before school.

Care to guess what the next addition will be?

Chicken Coop, no Chicken Coupe

Magic Man is very talented.  Here in the Big City North, he has a magic shop, theater & party room, and a workshop normally used to build large cabinet-styled stage illusions.  But then he has this wife who, on occasion, makes special and strange requests.

You may recall that about 6 weeks ago we brought home some baby chicks.  They lived in a brooding house for a few weeks, but grew so quickly we needed to transition them to a chicken coop.  I worked on design after design, never quite satisfied with the final idea.  Then one night, it came to me in a dream.  My girls need a Chicken Coupe.

Magic Man shook his head when I approached him with the request.  He took my sketch and "disappeared" (ha! pun intended) into the workshop.  A few days later, he called me to the workshop, handed me a can of primer and a brush and instructed me to get busy, priming the coop inside and out. (I found out just how limber I am not).  I primed on day one and painted the next day.  Day three we added the almost finishing touches.  It was enough for the girls to move in.

So here is their new home, the Coop de Ville.  The nesting area is under the hood, feeding station in the trunk.  The girls can roost in the driver's seat and enter the run through the passenger door.  We can open both side doors or the hood and quickly clean the coop.  Functional and fun - I'm happy.

Coop de Ville

 The girls love sitting the in Driver's seat.  Oddly enough, that is Daisy on the passenger side.

Driving Miss Daisy

 It is difficult to see, but there is a chicken run, that ghost-like image in the photo below, for the girls.  It looks a bit like a submarine.  The run has a "conning tower" to roost and observe the surroundings.  Alas, Magic Man will NOT let me paint the run yellow.  All together now, let's sing "We all live in a yellow submarine..."

Chicken run

I'll be adding more sections to the run as the days grow warmer.  I hope the girls won't think they are gerbils.

Extending the Life of a Vacuum Sealer

In our household we freeze, can, dehydrate, cure meats and strive to keep fresh food on hand and made with ingredients we can pronounce.  We frequently shop bargain tables and sales for edible treasures.

Several years ago, Magic Man purchased a vacuum sealer for me.  I love my vacuum sealer.  It allows us to freeze items longer or store dehydrated foods in compact packaging.

Magic Man loves that he can buy gifts for his bride that has a plug or pull cord or a handle or makes barnyard noises.  As a City Boy, he benefits from these gifts and is learning to appreciate suburbanized mock-farm life.  One step at a time... he is still the traditional man, and the lovely roses below are my Valentine's Day gift this year.

Loving both

Back to the sealer.  This particular unit is several years old, but functions as well as the day he purchased it.  With the final selection in hand, the sales clerk offered this sage advice before heading to checkout.  When storing your unit, remove the sealing tray along with the gasket because 1) the pressure of the lid won't compress the gasket, and 2) the tray will help retain the gasket's factory shape.  Store the tray in a loosely closed plastic bag, he continued to keep dust and grime off the gasket and allows moisture to escape the bag.

His advice is proven to be sound.  In the past, my sealers have lasted no more than three years.  The gasket was always the first to go.   Thanks to a caring salesman, we plan to use this machine for many years to come.

Mimicking Hamburger Helper

Magic Man was a well established bachelor when we met.  He was and is independent, a handyman, a very talented illusion manufacturer, housekeeper, and cooks to survive - not because he likes that task.  To be fair, he does a few really good recipes "up his sleeve", so to speak.  I love his potato salad, beans, ribs, fajitas, and sausage.  HIS personal favorites added Hamburger Helper, canned asparagus, and green beans overloaded with bacon, onions, and salt.

The other night, like every night this week, required a quick meal at home.  At work I wondered what we could toss together and be palatable.  I don't stock Hamburger Helper in my pantry, but decided with our stock we could mimic Magic Man's favorite "blend."

Arriving home from work, I headed straight for the kitchen snatching a large baking potato and onion en route.  My trusty Dutch oven started heating on the burner and after a quick potato prep, we sliced it into thicker-than-potato-chip pieces.  We browned the potato slices in hot oil in the Dutch oven, then chopped the onion while the potato slices cook.  The spuds were done, so they started the draining excess oil process and were set aside.  Back in the Dutch oven, the onions sautéd to which we added some ground beef.  A quick defatting of the meat mixture and addition of some flour - I guess it was a couple of tablespoons, we stirred this together and let the mixture bubble and brew for a while.  It was time to toss in some salt, pepper, and minced garlic followed by a cup-ish of chicken broth.  This mixture was thickening nicely and starting to smell really good.  During that simmering time, I discovered a package of frozen peas and dumped those in.  Back in went the potatoes, followed by a couple of big dollops of sour cream.  A final good stir and it was time to eat.

Magic Man complained.  We should have doubled the recipe.

No pictures to go with this story.  Maybe next time.  No one expected this meal to be a hit.  The best part is, this recipe becomes one of our "Some" collection.

Magic Egg Bags

Man discovered I sew.  I guess that's my fault for keeping the sewing machine in the closet for so many years.  

 

I love this fabric

Magic Man demonstrated his Magic Egg Bag.  Then showed me improvements he'd like to see in "future models."







We experimented with different fabrics, techniques, bag sizes, and grippers.  He now has a favorite.  The others will be stocked for sale.  Feel free to visit the Illusion Warehouse, Magic Man's online magic shop for these and other magical items.



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Looks like the Chicken Snake met his Fate.



New Year's Day is Magical

Today is New Year's Day.  Magic Man and I are headed into the Big City, joining his magical colleagues for a traditional celebration: food, friends, and fun.  Mrs. K is making ham, cole slaw, and black-eyed peas.  Yummy!

Against better judgment, I'm bringing deviled eggs.  I can't visit without taking a dish with me.  I wasn't raised to do otherwise.

Magic Man likes his eggs very dilly and mustardy.  I doubt those two adjectives are real words, but you get the idea.  I like my HOT!  Others don't like them so hot.  I made three recipes.

Mustardy-Dilly Ingredients

Dilly Devils

Original DE Ingredients

And the Deviled Egg

With the Addition of Sliced and Diced Jalapenos

The Hot Devils

All of the Above - Now I'm hungry

We arrived at the K's home, just in time.  The Deviled Eggs served before our late arrival had just disappeared.  Typical for a group of magicians.
Sorry this and the other postings are late and clumped together.  While dining with our friends on New Years, I received a call that a childhood friend of mine died in an auto crash.  HS was my mom's next door neighbor in the Barren Thicket; I knew him 45 years.

Trying to come to grips with the news, I took a few days away from posting stories.  Sadly, I'm still reeling from the news of another friend, who six weeks earlier, died in a similar way and my stolen car over NY's weekend. 

Four Basic Food Groups & Food Pyramid

The Christmas countdown is clocking away too quickly and my Christmas gifts are not completed.  Who had the bright idea to MAKE all our gifts this year?  Oh yeah, that was me.  Today's post is quick and dirty.

Magic Man claims to be a second generation vegetarian.  He eats animals which eat grass, hay, etc.

Magic Man said he was late for his last performance with PETA, he was detained at an animal rights BBQ.

Magic Man has declared his four food groups:  Ham, Bacon, Sausage, and Pork Chops.  When I reminded him the Four Basic Food Groups are replaced with the Food Pyramid, he thought and carefully chose his words:

:)

Ham

Bacon

Sausage

Pork Chops

I can't win.

Pinches, Scraps, and Magic Crafts

Welcome to our home, a magical place which produces amazing crafts and food.  We want to share those with you.  We want to share those with you.  Follow us as we journey through each room searching every nook and cranny.

My husband is a magician.  I am an engineer.  We combine our talents to produce meals and crafts.  Let's begin our tour.