Ordinary Day and Fun Mail

My day was an ordinary day - feed/water animals, can jelly,  housework, laundry etc.  Until the mail arrived.

Carolyn at Krazo Acres surprised me with a jar of home canned Cider Jelly.  Thank you Carolyn!  That was a sweet surprise!

Excerpts from a Journal Junkie

from the family journal . . .

 ...we received a lovely sympathy card from one of my brother's and his wife.  The artwork on the card looks just like Gus. 

...two of the girls went sledding with friends.  They even tried to fit the dog pool in their car to take (didn't happen, ha ha ha!)

 

from the homesteading journal . . .

...still working on the goat stalls.  We can't wait much longer, as the roofing ripped off even more during the last snow storm.

...still researching more recipes that utilize our pantry/freezer stock.  A man my hubby knows has offered to teach us how to make wine from his nephew's pear trees.  It's not a necessity, so it's not really on the top of my list, but more so for a fun self-sufficiency experience.

 ...still hanging our laundry outside, despite the snow.  We have had good winds and sunshine, and it only took a few minutes to warm them in from of the fire.  Boy did my bedding smell good.

...adding up the egg totals for the remainder of 2012.

...used the last of my cooked (and then frozen) dry beans.  I need to get both crockpots cooking black and kidney beans this week.  This has saved us money and is so much healthier than using so many store brand cans of beans. 

  


from the handiwork journal . . .

...working on more Christmas ornaments.  A few can be seen on my S.C.R.A.P. Blog, but some won't be posted until next Christmas.

...working on sewing up yo-yo's with a large box of scrap fabric.  I am so thankful to receive these scraps from a dear friend.

...dug out my "unfinished" project list to work on as well.




from my personal journal . . .

...the lymph node in my neck is still swollen, but reduced in size.  It seems like it's taking forever, but the organic teas and oils are helping.

...I've been organizing my printed craft patterns again.  I got side tracked and now they are neatly being put into their 3-ring binders, and I even have tab dividers to separate the types of projects (and crochet and knitting projects are in separate books too).

...purchased a planner to keep track of my writing in this year (deadlines, contests, words written etc).  It's a good motivator. 



from the gratitude journal . . .

Today I am thankful for...

~ for warm slippers that hubby bought me for Christmas (am thankful for these to wear during the day when dogs drag in snow, and thankful for my gifted red knitted pair to wear at nightfall).

~ for my warm cozy bathrobe 


~ for the propane that is still in the propane tank

~ for beautiful winter sunrises, filled with gorgeous colors

~ for the eggs the chickens keep providing, and the delicious meals I can make with them (not to mention desserts)

~  for the library, and all the resources they provide.

~ for the delicious coffee's, hot chocolates, teas, and wine we received for Christmas.

~ for today's sunshine.

~ for God's Promises.

 


from the exercise journal . . .

...still doing a weekly weigh in, and keeping fit on a regular basis.  I have more weight to lose, but it's slowly coming off.   

I Forgot the Back Porch Furniture....

Sunday we officially started to use the wood stove and corn/pellet burner.  It's taking time getting used to the routine of stacking wood and loading stoves again.

Yesterday the kids helped me put all of the front porch furniture in the barn and cover it up.  However, in our hurry, we forgot the back porch furniture.  Hmpf.  That's one of the pieces in the photo, covered with morning sleet.  It looks like snow, but it's really icy sleet.

Yesterday morning I fought the rain, at getting my laundry dried. I ended up bringing it in and drying it on racks in front of the stoves (including the bed sheets).

The school had a scheduled 2 hour delay for a teacher work day, but we would have had one anyway.  The sleet continues to come down.  I'm so glad my son helped me re-stock the wood on the front porch.

I hope we get another break in the weather soon.  We have much more winter prep to do on the chicken barn. 

Quality Clothespins?

My clothespins seem to disappear often around here.  We take some camping too.  The kids use them for wall tents (and me too).

Excerpts from a Journal Junkie

from the homesteading journal . . .

 I picked our first garden bounty - radishes and sugar snap peas.  Started to keep track of produce on the blog too.  I baked a red potato/kohlrabi/garlic scape dish I found on-line, and for the peas, we made a stove-top mix of sugar snap peas and asparagus.  Yum!  My husband paid a commercial fisherman to catch us some local perch.  It's not cheap either.  We may be renting a boat (or borrowing one) to take a trip up to catch our own.  Delicious fish.

Cheddar and Tim are spending a lot of time with me outside.  I'm pretty sure they love their new home.  One day I picked berries and Cheddar was all around my legs, rubbing back and forth.  I bent over to pick some low berries and he jumped on my back - OW!

We discovered bats in the goat barn.  Babies were falling from the ceiling and we didn't know what to do.  We contacted professionals and found out that we had what's called a Maternity Colony - they have babies in June and begin to leave the barn in July.  Very interesting stuff.

I spent the week washing up the wall tent linens, getting caught up with housework (bathroom cleaning etc.) and making more jams - some jams for us and some for the Farmer's Market.

While picking berries, I discovered purple thistle growing nearby - one more wild flower to add to my wild flower journal.


The vet came out for a house call and was able to cut down both of Orion's horns.  He's less dangerous now, and we hope that will help stud him out this fall.  The one horn we have trouble with, will continue to grow, but the vet was able to cut it down enough, so that it wasn't touching his head (the horn that grew in and downward).  Right now, we are able to put surgery off the list.  Thankfully.

Canned 9 more 1/2 pints of strawberry-Honey Jam, and 5 - 1/2 pints of Wild Black Raspberry-Honey Jam.  However, one of my burners quit working.  I'll need to replace one now.

from the personal journal . . .

I actually took time for myself last Sunday. I was feeling a bit under the weather from a very long Saturday (did laundry at 5pm and took it down a few hours later etc.).  

I didn't feel up to anything, and took a library book to the front porch.  There I sat and read the entire book.  I really did.  I haven't done that in years.  

 I needed more places to store my canned goods, and my 15 year-old daughter reminded me about a bookshelf in the living room that had books on it.  I pulled some off and decided to barter many that I had already read.  I found one book that I had read and marked pages on.

 One chapter I marked, was titled "Make sure you get enough rest."  I think I will read this book one more time.

 I found a book I have not read yet, and have already started to read it - Hope and Humor for Pooped Out Parents, by Pam Vredevelt. 

from the family journal . . .

The two younger girls baked their dad a cake for Father's Day.

My brother, his girlfriend and her boys, stopped over for a surprise visit.  They got to see the buckling, the chickens, the bats, and the garden.  They tasted the goat's milk, and they tasted kohlrabi and sugar snap peas from the garden.  I gifted them a jar of homemade Strawberry-Honey jam, a dozen eggs, and a bag full of garden lettuce.

The power went out one morning for 2 hours.  We could not do anything - dishes, laundry, jam making etc.  The kids got out the board games, one painted, one did some drawing, and I had the change to gain a few more rows on my shawl.

from the  gratitude journal . . .

Today I am thankful for:

~having taken a full day of rest without work (not even cooking)

~my son and 15 year-old daughter for helping me pick wild black raspberries.  This is a tedious job.  Especially when it's in the 90's.

~rain, the garden really needed it

~snail mail, I love getting letters from my Aunt
 

from the crafting journal . . . 

I've been working on a knitted shawl for myself.  Still knitting away on a block blanket and a crocheted Christmas lap afghan.

from the exercise journal . . .

I am down 14 pounds now, with several more to lose.

Note:  I apologize for such a long post.  Summer work can be tedious and time consuming.

Hangin' Out

I am loving the warmer weather.  It sure dries my laundry faster.

I love the smell of bed sheets after they have been out on the clothesline.  I actually think it helps me sleep better too.

Speaking of sheets, I had to wash my bedding this morning.  Not because I am trying to de-germ the house, but because the two younger girls got Milo (our rabbit) out of his cage and let him play on my bed this morning.  They gave him a newspaper to rip up and play with, but while they were laughing at his excitement, he left me a little present.  The girls are now cleaning my mattress - ha ha ha!  No resting in there for me today.

I've gotten many "do's" this week from my 10 year-old daughter.  She wants to be a hair stylist when she grows up and she has been learning and practicing how to french braid my hair.  She's told me that I can't get more than 2 inches cut off, so she can continue to use me for practice.  I kind of enjoy it anyway.  It's pampering and relaxing.

We continue to fight off this nasty virus.  My 18 year-old daughter got it the worst I think.

Gus, our oldest dog, went back to the vet again this morning.  My son found another lump in the area of his recent surgery.

As for Peanut, she has not delivered as of this morning, but her utter is tighter than the previous day.