Chicken Bone Stock - December 10 & 11, 2025 @goldenoakfarm

As of 6 weeks ago, we were still in a mild drought. But with all the snow and lately, rain, I expect we are nearly out of it.

On Wednesday I went to exercise class and it was much the same as usual. I came home, made lunch, and sat on the couch to watch a Christmas movie. My son woke me at 4PM to tell me he wasn’t needed at work that day.

I got up and got the stoves going, candles turned on, and then made some supper. I watched another Christmas movie and went to bed at 8PM and slept through until 5AM Thursday. I don’t know why I was so tired.

I’ve not been being a vegetable in my chair because the cord/charger for my husband’s old Apple 6sPlus died. The phone is so old it won’t stay charged so I am waiting for a new charger and longer better cord to arrive. Sometimes I read in the chair though.

My son had gotten the masonry heater up to 183F! during the night but that was okay. I had to open the door to the porch to warm it up for the stock making roasters on Thursday morning. The cold from the porch balanced things out nicely.

I was supposed to have a new helper, one who could stand and go upstairs, etc. So I set up as much as I could for when she arrived at 10AM.

I didn’t know if she knew how to cook and I like my vegetables done a certain way, so I prepped them.

I measured out the seasonings for each roaster.

I got both roasters out and set up. I got a call from the helper agency that she wasn’t coming. This was the second week she’d cancelled on me so I told the agency to forget sending her. I need someone I can depend on. I asked them to call my helper friend to see if he would help me get the stock started.

He agreed to come at his normal time and help. He was prepping the vegs when I got a phone call from my contractor. My previous window washer woman, his partner of decades, had died in the night! I was shocked as she was my age. I hadn’t even known she was sick.

On a trip to Arizona in 2022

Apparently she’d had breast cancer for nearly 10 years and opted for alternative treatment. She was actually working last week. He said she had gone quickly. I was so shocked and concerned for him.

He, like me, finds Christmas an enjoyable time, and I have spent the last few Christmas Eve’s with him and this woman. She’d pick me up and we’d look at lights on the way to his house. He said he is still planning to do Christmas. We’ll see how it plays out.

They both were worried how it would affect me to know she’d died, given how my husband went. I was his first phone call. I assured him, while shocked at the suddenness; I wasn’t upset as she had had a peaceful passing. I would be ok, just sad as we had been friends a long time.

My helper friend and I sat and prepped all the vegs and I weighed everything to try to evenly divided them between the roasters. I discovered the carcasses had half a pound of liquid when they thawed out. So it wasn’t quite even.

We put in the required 3 quarts of water, but it didn’t cover the vegs, so we kept adding until it did. It didn’t take long for the house to smell pleasantly of cooking chicken.

I kept an eye on the liquid level and added more as needed. They will cook for 24 hours which will be after my helper has left on Friday. I’d forgotten they had to cool before I could package them for the freezer. So the roaster will stay on the cold porch overnight and on Saturday I will finish.

Thursday afternoon I watched more Christmas movies and ordered one of the last presents. I had supper and watched a movie and was in bed by 9PM, after tending the stoves, the roasters, window candles, and shades.

On Friday my helper friend arrives at 8AM and has a few chores to do. I have phone calls to make and when he’s left, I have to get ready for an event at the Senior center.