Monday again? Already?

Wow, that week went by fast!

My back is better, in case you were wondering. Somehow, a face full of hot tomato sauce makes the back ache less. Oh yeah, you read that right. It wasn't fun, hurt like hell, but thankfully didn't scar. And no, I didn't do it on purpose!

Yeah, last week was one of those weeks. I should've just stayed in bed Monday morning and skipped the whole thing.

The weekend was awesome, though. Farmer's Market was a bit slow, but turned out that was due to Heritage Days at Malabar Farm. If you've never been, and you like any kind of homesteading, history, or reenactment, get yourself there next year. It's free to get in, you don't even pay for parking, and you'll see lots of interesting stuff. The local history museum was there, showing things that may be found in the average pioneer camp...or my house! lol I learned how flax is spun, saw that I'm growing the wrong kind for fiber, and have already found some seed for the kind I need.

Anyway, back to canning. I think I'm done with tomatoes. I have about 111 quarts. Not including salsa, pizza sauce, wing sauce, hot sauce, etc.

I've just started tomatillo-habanero salsa, so I'm only up to six pints on that. The purple tomatillos aren't quite what I was hoping for, so next year I'll grow those for market and stick with the green for Eöl's favorite salsa. I think I'll try a batch of tomatillo salsa with Thai Hot peppers and see how that turns out.

For now, seeing as how it's a rainy day, I'm off to clean house. I've already had a nap, which makes this a pretty good day so far. lol

I throw my pie up in the air sometimes

Now that you have that song stuck in your head for the rest of the day...

Let me tell you about my Thanksgiving misadventures in pie making...

 The pic is pretty blurry because I took it with my (ancient) cell phone...

but you can probably tell, it's a pumpkin pie, face down, in the floor, covered with shattered pie plate.

I usually bake my pies on baking sheets, to keep them from bubbling over onto the bottom of the oven.  The timer went off, I grabbed the fireplace gloves (I was rushing around doing a zillion things at once), and took the baking sheet and pie out of the oven.

The gloves, I had failed to notice, had a hole in the finger.  I got burned. I flinched. I watched as, in slow motion (or so it seemed), the hot pie slid off the baking sheet, tumbled through the air, and landed with a huge SPLAT and CRASH, face down in the floor.

I suffered a brief episode of Tourette's, or maybe it was just sailor mouth, as shards of glass and hot pie filling sprayed my kitchen.

I snapped the cell phone pic and sent it to Eöl.  I could hear the wailing and lamenting 12 miles away.  

I was a bit more careful with the other pie, which thankfully made it to the table for Thanksgiving.

And now, every time we hear that Taio Cruz song, we change the lyrics:

I throw my pie up in the air sometimes

Saying YEE-OWCH

That's a hot pie

This is what memories are made of. :)

Headed into a holiday week...

Thanksgiving is almost here already!  I can't believe how incredibly fast this year has gone by!

So here we are, headed into the holiday week - a three day work week -  and we're all set for a major project, hopefully to be completed by the end of the holiday weekend.  All of the necessities were picked up today: paint, trim, etc.  Ok, we may need some nails, but I can get those when I run out to pick up the few things I'll need for Thanksgiving dinner. 

Funny, just last year I wondered if I'd ever have a holiday that I wasn't trying to finish up a project beforehand.  Of course, this isn't the first Thanksgiving I've worked on the house.  A few years ago, Eöl (Santa) brought me the early gift of flooring for the living room. As soon as the table was cleared Thanksgiving Day, we started on the floor.  I still love my floor (and Eöl).

If you live the homesteading type of life, you probably know why we are working on the house during the holidays.  If not, I'll explain:

 In the early spring, we are busy seed shopping and starting plants.  I also work a seasonal job that starts around that time.

Then, later in the spring, we are rushing to get the garden in the ground.  There's a small lull after the garden is planted, but there are outside home improvement projects and weeding to be done, as well as farmer's market work to do.  The market takes at least a day of prep in addition to the actual market day.

Harvest starts before we know it, though it seems like a long wait when tomatoes are green on the vine.  Picking, blanching, freezing, canning, and farmer's market take up pretty much all of my time.

Once harvest is over, we try to prep for winter.  Whenever we have downed trees, we get those cut up for winter fuel.  We do as much prep for next year's garden as possible, mulch the flower beds, rake leaves for the compost pile (I live in the woods, I don't care if there are leaves on the ground...but they are soo good for the compost pile it's hard to leave them if I have time to rake), and work on any last minute outside projects (like the roofing project I just did).  We also harvest chickens at this time of year.

That leaves only a short window for indoor home improvement projects.  Of course, into all those things listed above, you have to add our daily chores, homeschooling, and all that mundane stuff like doctor appointments, etc.

So...here we are again, with a major project for the holidays.  We're finishing up a bathroom! Yay!  The room already has a new toilet..that was one of our first projects when we bought the place. You don't even want to know why.  The flooring is mostly done...and has been that way for over two years.  I know...about that procrastination award...  but other things popped up and we just sort of forgot about it.  The room will be getting a new ceiling, a new paint job, the flooring will be finished...I'm so excited!

In other home improvement news, I did finally finish up the ceiling paper in Big Sis' room.  I got the paint for it today, as well as an unbelievably perfect (and inexpensive) wallpaper border.
 
My project list is pretty long, but the most important things are finishing up this bathroom and Big Sis' room before the baby comes.  For her room, I need to paint the ceiling, get the border up, finish the curtains I am making and get them hung, put in the new closet rods, and then help her rearrange things for the Little One.

I really hope to get started on that baby quilt in the next week or so, as well.  I love quilting, but that's another post entirely!

I just realized, I'd intended this post to be about Thanksgiving dinner, but I suppose I'll save that for tomorrow.

How much wood would a woodchuck chuck?

Pictured above are six cords of seasoned, dry, split and delivered wood.   Not hauled up the hill via the Country Wife Fitness Program. 

Last year, I barely dared hope that we'd be able to purchase wood this year.  And now...just look at it! It's LOVELY!!!

So far we have purchased 8 cords.  I have one cord tucked away in a sheltered area near the door, just for blizzard weather.  I have two more cords coming next week.  Once that is stacked, we'll cover it all and wait for the snow to fly. 

We may not use that much wood.  If we don't, it'll be there for next year.  I'd rather have too much than run out....which I have done in the past.  And let me tell you, hauling wood uphill...in over a foot of snow...is not as much fun as it sounds.  Still, it beats shopping for a bikini.

Why not cut our own again this year?  Our woodlot has pretty much reached its limit.  It needs time to recover.  There are a few downed trees, and a few that look ready to fall; we'll harvest those, as well as any that fall from storms in the future.  We discussed buying another woodlot...just land that we could clear and then re-sell.  But the cost for the land per month would actually exceed what we would spend on wood, already split and delivered.  Not to mention with the real estate market in its current shape, it would be difficult to re-sell the vacant lot.  For once, the easy route is the cost effective one.  Go figure. 

We've already burned through about a cord and a half of our 'boughten' (I've been reading the Little House series again..does it show? lol) wood. That may sound like a lot, but it's been cold here, and the fire has been burning since October 2, give or take a few warmer days.  Some days were so cold, we've had both woodburners going.  I fretted about the expense until a co-worker of Eöl's mentioned her natural gas bill (most people in this area use natural gas for heat; we used it in the city..yikes..expensive).  She'd been billed over $350, had used her heat for less than a month, kept the house at barely lukewarm, and has a very small home...about half the size of ours!  I guess I can't complain, when some days it's gotten so warm in here that I've had to open the windows!

I feel spoiled, though, not cutting and hauling wood this year.  It's been a strain on our budget, as well.    Then again, considering we have an oil furnace, the price of oil, and how long a tank would last, we are coming out ahead financially, with the bonus of being super toasty warm.

But now my major dilemma is: how will I practice my ninja chainsaw skills? *shrugs*  I suppose I'll find a way.  ***maniacal laugh***

Thought for the day

                  

So many worlds, so much to do, such things to be, so little done.

               - Alfred Lord Tennyson



Two of my favorites: Waterhouse and Tennyson. 

Little Sis (at age 7 or 8) named one of our chickens Alfred, in honor of Tennyson.  When I asked her why, she said, "Because the chicken kinda looks like him.  He's weird looking and his poems stink."  *shrug* At least she knew who he was.

**I don't know if the link posted or not, but the pic is from http://www.jwwaterhouse.com/ . 

Things to do...but no places to go...yay!

Yesterday was all about running.  Get here. Get there.  Do this. Buy that.  Yikes. 

Today is all about getting things done at home.  Actually, the rest of the week, except for one day, is devoted to getting some projects finished, and getting others under way. 

The one I dread the most is cleaning out Little Sis' closet. I've put it off for a year.  I'll probably get a Major Procrastination Award for that one...tomorrow.  But this is the best time of year for it, when I can haul loads and loads of stuff to Toys For Tots.  Assuming I'm not lost in the ensuing avalanche once the doors are opened.  *rolls eyes*

I'm hoping to finish up the ceiling in Big Sis' room today.  At least getting the paper up.  I think I started that project a year ago.  *sigh*  That's how things are on the farmstead, though.  Garden and critters take priority over home improvement projects.  Once I get the paper up, I'll still have to paint the ceiling. *grumble*  I ended up having  to cut the ceiling paper into manageable pieces, rather than full strips that tend to pick up clothes, bedding, my hair, and small animals before being applied to the ceiling.

Is there anything more tedious than ceiling paper?  Oh yeah, painting the ceiling.  Because of the mess.  No matter how much plastic I put down, there will still be paint spatters on everything, including my contact lenses.  I think I'll opt for the full face shield or at least safety glasses this time. 

The wood ash was cleaned out again today.  Little Sis has generously volunteered (read: been ordered) to take over the dusting so I can work on that *&^%% ceiling.  Right now, we're waiting for the ash to settle, and I thought I'd do a post before I was too stiff and tired to bother.

And now I'm off to deal with lunch and that blasted ceiling.  I may be in traction by the end of the week. yikes.

12 years

Our fantasy wedding.

Our fantasy life.

12 years. It's not really a long time, but a lot can happen in a dozen years. I can't get over how young we looked in our wedding pics!

These have been the happiest years of my life. No matter what sort of crisis or chaos the world tosses our way, we face it together, back to back, swords in hand. And no, that's not just a metaphor. :P

My only regret is that I didn't meet Eöl sooner. If only I could go back and tell my 16 year old self that the guy staring at her from the bleachers is The One. *sigh* Oh well, at least we have each other now, and we are truly happy. Who could ask for more?

Happy Anniversary, Love!

Her house was all tarnished with ashes and soot

It's cold here. Cold, I tell you!!! So cold, in fact, that we had to light the kitchen wood stove today.

We've had the living room's wood burning insert going for a couple of weeks now, but it hadn't been quite cold enough to light up the second wood stove.

But now it is!!! brrrr!! 28 degrees at night. ( And in another month, I will look back at this post and laugh, because by that time, 28 will seem balmy.)

Thanks to the cold, I did have a somewhat productive day:

Before I could fire up the kitchen stove, I had to put away all the dried herbs hanging around it, since I really didn't want flaming tumbleweeds flying down the hall. Putting away the herbs required the messy work of removing stems and bagging the dry, crumbly herbs. The kitchen smelled nice, though.

As long as I had all that mess to clean up, I decided it was a great time to vacuum the back of the fridge. For some reason, the fridge runs much better when the vents are not clogged with dust and matted with the fur of various indoor mammals. Go figure. Do you ever look behind your fridge? I suggest bringing a chainsaw, just in case of wild tarantula attacks.

I used hot coals from the living room wood burner to get the kitchen fire going. But of course then I realized that the living room wood burner was chock full of ash, with barely room for more wood.

If you've never cleaned out a wood stove, let me tell you, it's an adventure. Hot ash floats. It cools, and then it settles. Before you know it, your home will look like Mount St Helens erupted nearby.

It's best to clean out a cold wood stove. But really, that seems to happen only during the rare heat wave, and then maybe in the spring. In the meantime, to keep from piling ash all the way up the chimney, you are often stuck with cleaning out a toasty wood stove full of glowing coals.

Before you get started, remember to remove anything flammable from the area. Specifically: the cat. Flaming cats will always head for the curtains. (It's been scientifically proven.) Finding a lack of curtains, they will climb the next best thing: your leg.

The next step is to turn off the wood burner's fan, and try to let the air become calm, to help avoid spreading the ash into the next county.

Gather your supplies: an empty ash bucket (not plastic, unless you want Gumby melted into your skin), small fireplace shovel, and flame proof gloves. Welding gloves are great for using around the fire. Be assured that when you don't put on the fireproof gloves before opening the door to the wood stove, a flaming log is sure to fall out, leaving you juggling fire as you try to find and put on said gloves.

Scoop hot ash into metal ash bucket, as gently as possible. Try not to dump the ash and poof it up into your face, sending you into a fit of coughing, sneezing, and Tourrette's.

Carry bucket full of hot ash outside. Place it away from house, car, dry tinder, and flammable outdoor pets. Remember, flaming pets will claw their way enthusiastically up your house, onto the roof, back down the chimney, and up the curtains...unless you don't have curtains...

Go back inside. Gape in horror at the cloud of ash hovering over your furniture. Once it has settled, begin The Great De-Ashing. This is best accomplished by having someone else do it. Second best is to dress small children in dust mop type clothing, slide them around the room and across the furniture. Failing the use of small children, or perhaps some large guinea pigs, you'll just have to dust by hand.

Oh yeah, I also baked two chicken pot pies, two apple pies (yes, all from scratch), put three quarts of cooked chicken (our own chickens) in the freezer, and did some laundry. Yay for me!