O Christmas Tree

Our family tradition dictates that there is no shopping to be done on "Black Friday".  Instead, we put a pot of turkey noodle soup on the stove to simmer for an easy supper, pop our favorite Christmas CDs into the stereo and make (and drink) gallons of eggnog while trimming the Christmas tree.

A few years back, I finally relented and let Pierce choose an artificial tree.  He had a point:  our family room has a 20 foot ceiling and even a large tree looked puny standing in the corner.  We decided to go with a 15 foot artificial tree.

Although I dislike digging the tree, lights, topper and ornaments out of the garage and I dislike the mess involved in the entire process, I absolutely adore the time spent with my family and the way the Christmas Tree lights up the family room.

And my older cat, Layla, loves to curl up under the tree and relax.

Stocking the Larder

My freezers and pantry are overflowing!  Pierce outdid himself with the garden this past summer.  The pantry (and basement) shelves are stocked with green beans, corn, carrots, tomatoes in every imaginable form, etc. - not to mention zucchini relish, pickle relish, etc.  He also dutifully helped me picked what seemed like a ton of berries, apples, and peaches.  These were canned, frozen or made in jellies and jams.

We also purchase one half of a beef with our neighbors each year.  Saturday was pick up day - 298 lbs of roasts, steaks, hamburger, stew meat, ribs, soup bones, etc. are happily nestled in the chest freezer.  And we are lucky enough to live close to an organic chicken farm so I purchase whole chickens throughout the year when they go on sale and add them to the freezer.  Our farmer's market has a meat supplier and I take advantage of their "pork package" - bacon, ham, chops and loin twice a year.

I have stocked up on baking essentials such as flour and sugar as well as the non-essential essentials: cocoa, baking chocolate, powdered milk, oats, cornmeal, etc.  With the generator at the ready, we are not frightened about the upcoming winter months here at the farm.  I love the feeling of preparedness and the knowledge that I can feed my family nutritious, delicious meals by "shopping" my pantry when the weather becomes too frightful to be out on the roads.

In Which Pierce Catches Dinner

Large Mouth Bass

I was working on a sewing project when Pierce poked his head in the doorway and asked "What's for dinner"?  I told him I was planning to make Lasagna, tossed salad and bread.  "Hold off on that for a bit.  I'm going to catch us dinner tonight", he said with a grin.

So off he went, down to the pond that he and the Photographer stocked a few years back.  For the most part, fishing here has been catch and release - simply to give the fish time to grow to a decent size.

I hadn't seen Pierce for a few hours and decided I better go ahead and start dinner when my cell phone range.  "I'm bringing dinner home.  Tell Dad to meet me on the back patio" he said with a huge smile in his voice.  I informed the Photographer that his presence had been requested and opened the pantry door to get cornmeal for the fish.

The Photographer came back into the house and grabbed his camera.  Sensing something was up, I asked what was going on.  My guys seemed to think that Pierce may have caught a state record sized fish!  Lots of photographs, weighing and measuring ensued.  Sadly, Pierce missed the record by 2 inches but was more than happy to provide us with dinner last night.

Being Thankful

I am thankful for a lawn that needs mowing, windows that need cleaning and gutters that need fixing because it means I have a home.... I am thankful for the piles of laundry and ironing because it means my loved ones are nearby. 

~Nancie J. Carmody

Shea



We lost one of our cats last week.  We have many coyotes in the area and I am always careful to make certain that all my animals are safely inside at night.  Shea had been snuggling with me on the sofa until Pierce came into the room.  All animals have their favorite humans and Pierce belongs to Shea the same way I belong to Bear.  Shea jumped off the sofa and followed Pierce upstairs.



I awoke during the night when I heard a cat scream.  Thinking gratefully that all my animals were safe, I went back to sleep.  The next afternoon, Pierce came through the house to ask if I had seen Shea.  Not since he went upstairs with you last night I replied.  Pierce gave me a strange look.  He didn't follow me upstairs last night, he said, I only gave him some milk and he decided to lay in the window seat.  My heart sank - I knew then what had happened.

The only thing we can guess is that Shea ran out of the house when the Photographer took the dogs out before bed and didn't come back in with them.  He has run off before but has never been gone for more than 2 days.  

Pierce is beside himself with worry and has taken the dogs out every day to search for Shea.  He is convinced that what I heard was Shea fighting with a raccoon.  Shea is half Main Coon - a hulking 25 pound boy that has held his own while fighting racoons in the past.  Pierce insists that Shea is only lying low, nursing his wounds until he can return home. But I can see the desperation and the doubt in his eyes.

I am mourning him as well.  When we first moved here, the Photographer gave me a kitten for my birthday and Shea was her first born.  Call me silly or call me stupid but I think of Shea as my "grandbaby".  He was all I had left of his mother - who had a stroke and needed to be put down several years ago.  I have taken the dogs out myself every day and scoured our property from one end to the other looking for him. But there is no doubt, I know he is gone and I am heartbroken.

Homemade Laundry Soap

I have been "researching" homemade laundry soap for quite a while.  Most of the recipes I have come across are for liquid and I prefer to use a powder.  I made a batch a while back using the instructions from a website I found but I wasn't happy with the way it worked.  It seemed that the laundry just didn't get very clean.

I have determined that the problem was the soap itself.  The "recipe" I used called for ivory soap - which might be nice for bodies but not for my laundry.  Last week I noticed that my local grocery store had Fels Naptha in stock.  I purchased 4 bars (99 cents each) and made another batch of laundry soap. 

I was a little concerned because I don't care for the smell of the Fels Naptha but decided to just go with it and see what happened.  After all, the worst that could happen was that I would need to re-wash one load of clothes.

It works!  Very well in fact.  Much better than the laundry detergent I have been buying at a much higher cost.  Much cheaper too.  And the smell of the Fels Naptha disappears once the clothes are dry.  The clothes only smell "clean".  I am completely sold.  This is the only recipe I will use from now on.

Homemade Laundry Soap

1 bar Fels Naptha soap, grated

1 cup Arm & Hammer Washing Soda

1 cup Borax

Place all in food processor and process until finely ground. Put soap in container and store in laundry room.  Use 2 tablespoons per large load of laundry.

The End of The Rainbow

After The Storm

We had a small storm blow through last week.  It didn't last very long but it got very dark, very quickly and the rain lashed down like gangbusters.  It was over in a matter of minutes.

I just happened to look out the front window on my way to the kitchen and saw a rainbow.  Closer inspection proved that the end of the rainbow is indeed located in my front yard!  No pot of gold to be found but lots of love, laughter and happiness everywhere!  A consolation prize I am definitely content with. 

Starting Seeds

Broccoli Seedlings

Although the weather has been unseasonably cool and wet this month, warmer days are finally on the horizon.  Pierce and I have prepared the vegetable beds and sewed seeds for plants that don't mind the cooler weather. 

So far we have started seeds for the warmer weather vegetables.  114 total plants.  Eggplant, tomatoes, bell pepper, jalepeno peppers, broccoli, etc.

We are planning to install six more raised beds in a few weeks and will then plant seeds that need to be direct sewed - sweet corn, pumpkins, okra, colored beans, swiss chard, butternut squash, etc.

Of course, will be also be growing potatoes various berries.  I hope to be doing lots of freezing and canning this summer!

It's Always Something

Courtesy of the Photographer 

The heating element in my dryer went out on Monday.  Of course, just two weeks after the warranty ran out!  I loaded up all the laundry and took it to my momma's.  We had a nice visit while I used her laundry facilities. 

Her washer and dryer are located in the basement.  Her home was built in the 1930s and the basement is huge!  It has lots of storage, an ironing area, and a  double basin utility sink.  A quadruple clothesline is strung up in the back across the width of the room.  I remember roller skating down there on rainy days when I was small, zig zagging between the clothes hanging on the line.

Which got me to thinking - why can't I hang a clothes line in my basement?  My basement is only one quarter the size of momma's.  But when I went downstairs and actually looked around, there is plenty of room for a line.  

And canned food storage.  But that's another post.

My "to do" list now includes a thorough cleaning of the basement and stringing a clothes line.  Pierce has promised to help in any way needed.  While I'm at it, I'm going to get an outside clothesline as well.  Once done, I plan to use only the clotheslines for one month to determine just how much energy  (and money) we spend by using the dryer.

Adventures in Country Living

Warning:  If you are squeamish about

creepy crawlie things - please skip this post!

Surprise Visitor

March seems to have come in like a lamb in these parts.  I am so thankful.  The past few winters have come very close to pushing me over the edge.  In fact, the weather today was so nice that I opened all the windows to thoroughly air the house while I went about my usual housekeeping routine.  Please note that we do not have screens on our windows.

I was upstairs vacuuming when I heard Bear barking.  I called down and told him to hush, it was just the Hoover making all the noise.  He uncharacteristically ignored me and it took a few seconds longer for me to realiz that I was hearing his "danger" bark.  I don't know about other dogs, but Bear has several different, distinctive "barks" and "growls".  And being his "momma" I realized when he was a puppy that if I paid attention, I could tell what different vocalizations meant.  Now, we can communicate as long as I am within hearing distance.

Heart pounding, I shut off the sweeper and raced downstairs.  I reached the bottom of the stairs and Bear jumped in front of me - blocking my path while he continued to bark.  I stroked his head and told him what a good boy he is as I looked around to see what the "danger" was. 

Several minutes passed while I stood on the bottom stair, listening to Bear growl and trying to ascertain what the problem was.  I didn't smell a gas leak, the house wasn't on fire, Bear would most certainly have cornered an intruder - I was at a loss.  But I trust my dog and didn't move. 

Suddenly, Bear leaned into me - trying to push me back up the stairs.  And that's when I saw it.  Slowly slithering towards me without a care in the world.  Bear's fur stood straight up on his neck.  He let out a most ferocious growl and then attacked.  I seized the opportunity to run into the family room and grab a fireplace end iron.

Bear and I swiftly disposed of the intruder - who apparently came in through one of the windows I had opened earlier.  Once it was dead, I used the fireplace shovel to carry it outside.  I left it on the patio for the Photographer to properly dispose of when he came home.  I thought it was a copperhead.  Pierce says he believes it is a juvenile rat snake - who apparently look like copperheads when young as a form of defense against predators.

They are both in shock that I managed to not have a heart attack in the process of killing the snake.  I am terrified of them!  I realize they play a vital role in the ecosystem and am fine with them as long as they stay out back and out of sight.  But they are not allowed in my house!  If one of the boys had been home, my visitor would have been gently relocated - but they weren't here and there is no way I am going to pick up a live snake!  It may as well have been an anaconda as far as I am concerned.

The windows are now shut tight again and I am seriously debating whether to purchase screens.  Bear, of course, is my hero yet again.  He received a huge soup bone along with cuddles and high praise for his actions.  I truly don't know what I would do without him.